
Class 
Book. 



35453 
-J358 



Copyright N°. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



And the Wilderness Blossomed 




:ORNER OF THE TERRACE 



And the Wilderness 
Blossomed 



By 
Almon Dexter 



I 



Philadelphia 

H. W. Fisher £s? Company 
1901 



1 



THE LIBRARY OF 

CONGRESS, 
Two Copies Received 

MAY. 28 1901 

Copyright entry 

CLASS Ok/ XXc N». 

COPY 8. 



>. 



& 



°>\<3% 



Copyright, IQOI, 
By H. W. Fisher & Company 



All rights reserved 



UNIVERSITY PRESS • JOHN WILSON 
AND SON • CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A. 



TO 
FERDINAND W. ROEBLING, 

And the others ivho have been there. 



How many goodly creatures are there here ! 

How beauteous mankind is ! O brave new world, 

That has such people in't! 

Tempest, v. I. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I 

Page 

In the Beginning * 



CHAPTER II 
Men of Maine 3 2 

CHAPTER III 
The Vestibule '• 61 

CHAPTER IV 
Some Birds 89 

CHAPTER V 
Flower Beds 120 

CHAPTER VI 

Perennials and Biennials 131 

vii 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER VII 

Page 

Annuals 189 



CHAPTER VIII 
Seeds 246 

Postscript 272 



Vlll 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 
A Corner of the Terrace Frontispiece 

The Outside as It Happened 7 

The Fireplace 11 

The Hallway 15 

Trees and Lawn 24 

A Burglar-Proof Safe 36 

The Garden Beds 98 

The Professor's Card 105 

The Terrace Wall 1 26 

Digitalis, the Blossom 138 

A Clump of Foxglove 139 

Lupines and Oriental Poppies 168 

Callirhoe Involucrata 177 

The Bride Poppy 192 

The Larkspur ....«, 215 

The Forest Primeval 240 



IX 



And the Wilderness Blossomed 



CHAPTER I 

IN THE BEGINNING 
" This is the house that Jack built" 

" " " DON'T see why you talk so much about 
| building a camp at Winnebago," said 
Hortense, looking up seriously from her 
needlework, in reply to some observation of 
mine on the joys of a lodge in the wilderness. 
" You know I could not take the children in 
there ; the flies and the mosquitoes would simply 
eat them up alive. Now, if you would buy that 
island we see on passing Insley Lake and build a 
comfortable house on it, I 'd take the children 
there and stay all summer." 

" You would ! " I exclaimed, and rising from 
my chair went at once to my desk, and sitting 
down wrote to my friend Leaf, who had been 
going fishing in the Insley region for no end of 
years and knew everybody and everything there. 
I asked him if he knew anything about this 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

island, who owned it, and whether it could be 
bought. Now, there is no dearer fellow in the 
world than Theodore Leaf, and he was not only 
able to answer all my questions satisfactorily, but 
actually offered to go and see the owners, who 
lived in Massachusetts, and buy the property 
in my behalf; and he did it too, and in a brief 
time the island of Norinamentook was mine, or 
rather it was the property of Hortense, and the 
deeds, with careful folding, went into her stock- 
ing the following Christmas eve. Deeds for real 
estate in Maine are very small. 

Talking once with a Maine man about a wharf 
that had lately been built in an exposed situation 
on the lake, he remarked that it was " a terrible 
hard chance over there," and I think it was " a 
terrible hard chance " I had undertaken when 
I proposed to build this comfortable house on 
an island covered with primeval forest, nearly 
twenty-five miles from a railroad, and which I 
had only seen from a distance of two miles across 
the water. Nevertheless, I resolved to take the 
chance and see what would come of it. 

In a way, its very remoteness and wildness was 
an attraction. I had nature to contend with, to 
be sure, but I was quite free from the machina- 

2 



IN THE BEGINNING 

tions of man ; I would have none of his blunders 
to correct. It was all fresh, new, inspiring. 

At the outset there is a word to be said as to 
the locality we had chosen. Insley Lake is the 
head of a chain of lakes in the State of Maine, at 
a distance of about twenty miles from the town 
of Firmins, where a railroad connects the town 
with the outer world. The stage road, though 
hilly, is a good solid highway, and in clear 
weather the drive is an agreeable one, but gener- 
ally it showers when you drive in or out. Insley 
Lake is about ten miles long, running nearly east 
and west. On the eastern shore is the village 
of Insley; then a small collection of houses with 
a hotel, a general store, a blacksmith shop, two 
sawmills, a school, and a church. The island 
contains about twenty acres, densely covered with 
forest, and is about two miles from the eastern 
end of the lake. Near the western end is an- 
other island known as Megwamantic, quite as 
wild as its sister isle. On the north shore is 
Neseghigo Cove, and on the western point of 
the cove there was at the time I bought the 
island a small cottage occupied in the summer 
months by a Dr. Bringhurst from Connecticut. 
The eastern end of the lake, a portion of the 

3 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

northern shore, and a still smaller portion of the 
southern shore had been partially cleared of 
timber, and thrifty-looking farm-houses dotted 
the green slopes. The small hotel in the village 
was frequented by travelling anglers in the sum- 
mer months, and almost buried under snow in 
the winter. Near the western end, at the lake's 
outlet, was still another small hotel, and near by 
was a club-house owned by Boston anglers. Both 
these hotels were well filled in summer, for the 
fame of trout-fishing in Insley Lake was wide- 
spread, and indeed it was the excellence of the 
fishing that first turned my steps to this part of 
Maine, and on more than one occasion I had 
brought wife and children with me. Since start- 
ing to build my house, I regret to say, I have 
never had time to go a-fishing, so the reader 
need not look here for any accounts of great 
catches of big trout. 

Insley Lake, named after an early settler, had 
been known to the Indians as Nikowussoc. 
Beyond its eastern border rises the highest 
mountain in this part of Maine, Keespennaden- 
gog. A little further north is a smaller conical 
peak known as Penakadensis, while parallel to 
the north shore of the lake is a long ridge whose 

4 



IN THE BEGINNING 

curiously marked side probably induced the In- 
dians to name it Psagatsitag. Beyond this latter 
mountain lies another beautiful sheet of water, 
Winnebago, on whose shores I had once longed 
to build my camp. At the western end of Insley 
Lake rises a beautiful peak known as Moosi- 
wadchet. The waters of this lake, after passing 
through the other lakes of the chain, form the 
well-known Nameskowhegan River, so impor- 
tant to the manufacturing interests of the State at 
Fryeburg and other points. 

The region is a very beautiful one, and at 
an altitude of about 1700 feet above sea-level 
one is sure of charming weather throughout the 
summer, — if anything, generally a little too cool, 
and absolutely perfect when the papers in Boston, 
New York, Philadelphia, and other cities are 
filled with stories of sunstroke and prostrations 
from the intense heat. Americans make annual 
pilgrimages to Switzerland, and rave over the 
beauty of its lake and mountain scenery, oblivi- 
ous, apparently ignorant, of the fact that our own 
country furnishes every variety of the picturesque 
in the superlative degree, compared with anything 
that can be found in Europe. 

Three strangers met one night in a small hotel 
5 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

in the West, and one was asked " where are you 
from ? " Drawing himself up proudly, he re- 
plied, " I am from Virginia, the mother of Presi- 
dents, the home of chivalry ; and you ? " 

" I," said the second, " am from Kentucky, 
the region of the blue grass, the home of the fast 
horse, of beautiful women, and of brave men ; 
and," he asked, turning to the third, " where are 
you from ? " 

" I," said the tall, spare man, " am from the 
garden spot of America." 

" Indeed," exclaimed the others in a breath, 
" and where, pray, is that ? " 

" Podunk, Maine," was the complacent answer. 
" Kin 1 sell you a razor strop ? " 

One only appreciates this anecdote to the full 
when he knows Insley. 

So much for the region in which we were to 
find a new home. The first consideration, of 
course, was our house; and from the start we had 
decided to build it ourselves, untrammelled by 
architects, landscape-gardeners, contractors, and 
the like useful but annoying artists, who are 
always so ready with reasons why this or that 
thing that you most want done cannot be done 
as you want it done. It always has seemed to 

6 



IN THE BEGINNING 

me that architects, when they plan a house, think 
first of all, and most of all, of how it is going to 
look from the outside. Now the outside of a 
house is, after all, mainly for the benefit of the 
passer-by, while the owner lives on the inside, 
and very rarely takes the trouble to go outside 
to view his own building, and after a time 
scarcely glances at it when he is outside. Nat- 
urally we went to the other extreme, and never 
thought of the outside at all, but planned the 
inside so that it should be exactly suited to our 
needs, and the outside had to fit itself to our 
requirements. We planned each room separately, 
and then moved them around until we got them 
in just the place we wanted them. First of all 
came the hall, which was to be twenty feet square ; 
then came two bedrooms, each being eighteen feet 
square ; then a dining-room, 16 X 20, a bathroom, 
6x12, a pantry, 7X18, a kitchen, 16 X 18 ; 
and these, with a laundry and woodshed, made 
up the first floor. The walls were to be built 
up but three feet above the second floor, and 
for the rest followed the slope of the square 
pitched roof. One thing we determined upon 
from the outset : the ceilings should all be the 
same height, so that if a picture was moved from 

7 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

one room to another the wire would not have to 
be altered. Architects delight in getting as many 
variations in the heights of their ceilings as there 
are rooms in the house. Sometimes this is 
difficult, but that only adds to the labors of the 
architect, and sometimes it is impossible, and 
then you will get two rooms of the same height, 
but not otherwise. We determined upon an- 
other innovation also. Each bedroom should 
have sufficient wall space for the head-board of 
a bed, and also space for a bureau, which should 
be near a window, or, if possible, between two 
windows ; and we so arranged the dining-room 
that a sideboard might be placed against the 
wall without blocking up either a doorway or a 
window. Another oddity about this house was 
that the pantry was to be big enough to hold the 
china and glassware of an ordinary family and 
still give plenty of room for a maid, or two if 
need be, to wash this glass and china when 
necessary. In the ordinary modern house the 
parlor may be imposing, and the dining-room 
even generous in size, but when it comes to such 
items as the pantry, the bathrooms, the kitchen, 
the closets, and the like, rooms in which the 
work of living is carried on, architects begin to 



IN THE BEGINNING 

economize space. Nowadays when one gets a 
new maid she has to be measured to see if she '11 
fit the pantry. A friend of mine had a maid 
who actually stuck fast in the back stairway and 
had to be pulled out by the heels. As they 
could not enlarge the stairway, she resigned, and 
her place was filled by a new maid two sizes 
smaller. I know of a palace built for a merchant 
prince in which the choicest bedroom had abso- 
lutely no vacant wall space for a bureau, the 
whole being occupied by an enormous circular 
window, beautiful to look at, especially from the 
outside, but of no utility at all in a bedroom. 
The architect was an artist, of course, or he never 
could have thought of such a window, so he 
was able to design a bureau for this particular 
room. It was practically two bureaus in one, 
with two mirrors back to back, and it was in- 
tended to rest in the centre of the circular window, 
the front of one side being square and the other 
circular, following the curve of the window. 
Windows ought to be put in a building for the 
purpose of giving light to the occupants, but 
they seem to be generally arranged for the pur- 
pose of making a building look artistic from the 
outside. The municipal building of a great city 

9 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

has cost more than the Taj Mahal, and there is 
hardly one room out of the hundreds that it 
contains in which business can be carried on even 
at midday without artificial light. If this build- 
ing were beautiful, one might condone the entire 
absence of utility in the structure, but every day 
men of artistic temperament lean up against 
near-by trolley-poles and weep when they look at 
it. The mayor has lately ordered the police to 
compel these people to move on, as they obstruct 
traffic. 

Of course in a summer home one must have 
fireplaces, and fireplaces are of little utility if 
the smoke escapes into the room instead of going 
up the chimney. A fire of coals in a grate does 
not require much of a flue, but when you have a 
large opening in which you expect to burn great 
logs of wood, the size of your flue must be ma- 
terially increased. A large stone fireplace was 
built in the lounging-room of a city club of which 
I happen to be a member, and though it cost a 
couple of thousand dollars, a fire was never built 
in it but once, and then all the smoke came out 
into the room, and the members went out of the 
doors. The architect had not apparently sup- 
plied any flue at all worth mentioning. For- 

10 



IN THE BEGINNING 




Fig. i. 



tunately for me, about this time I found an essay 
on chimneys and fireplaces, written a century or 
more ago by Count Rumford. As the Count 
knew nothing of coal as a fuel, 
the dimensions of his chimneys 
were based on the burning of 
wood, and made large enough 
for the purpose. The back of 
his fireplaces sloped forward, 
making a narrow opening for the 
smoke toward the front. This 
narrow opening extended up for 
a foot or more, and then dropped 
back square making a shoulder or shelf. If there 
is any back draught in such a chimney, the cold 
air strikes this shoulder and the hot air carries 
it up again at once, giving it no / / 

chance to get into the room and 
take the smoke with it. 
This little sketch (Fig. i) 
shows the method of 
construction. Three 
of our fireplaces 
were arranged to- 
gether, back to 
back, with one 




AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

chimney, but with separate flues. One, the 
largest, is in a corner of the hall, and next to 
it is also a corner fireplace in the dining-room, 
the third being on the side of an adjoining bed- 
room. This sketch (Fig. 2) explains it. An 
advantage of this arrangement is that there can be 
no wood-work behind any of these fireplaces and 
danger from fire is practically eliminated. None 
of the timbers of either of the floors or of the roof 
touch the chimney at all. There is a space be- 
tween the wood and the brick-work everywhere. 
Now and then you will find a stairway up 
which you can walk without appreciable effort. 
If you will stop and measure the steps on such a 
flight, you will find that the riser, or elevation of 
the steps, does not vary much from six inches in 
height, and that the tread, or width of the step, is 
about thirteen inches. The average man raises 
his foot about so high, and advances it each time 
about so far, and any variation from this compels 
him to call upon his muscles for extra work with 
resulting fatigue. It seems to me that this ought 
to be horn-book law to the architects, and that 
long ere this the proper dimensions of a stair- 
case should have been ascertained and reduced to 
a positive law, to be followed wherever possible. 

12 



IN THE BEGINNING 

Yet how seldom it is that one finds a comfortable 
staircase, either in our private houses or in pub- 
lic buildings. Measure them, and you will find 
that the riser is generally from seven to eight 
inches, and the tread rarely much exceeds ten. 
In one of the largest of our railroad stations the 
architect designed the staircase, to be built of 
enduring stone, so steep that it was a daily oc- 
currence for people to trip going up, or to fall 
headlong going down. The accidents were so 
frequent that the company was forced to build a 
wooden structure over the expensive stone work, 
with a proper rise and tread. For such a blunder 
as this there could be no excuse whatever. The 
architect had been doing work for the railroad 
company for years, and had probably designed 
thousands of staircases, giving him ample oppor- 
tunity to learn the proper formula for such a 
structure, and in no event could want of space be 
urged as an excuse, as the building of the wooden 
superstructure subsequently proved. When this 
building was remodelled a few years ago, a new 
stone stairway was built which went, I think, a 
little too far to the other extreme, the risers being 
six inches high, and the treads fifteen and a half 
broad. While people neither stumble nor fall on 

13 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

this stairway, it is somewhat annoying in practical 
use, the average man being compelled to take a 
longer step than is natural or else now and then to 
take a double step on a single tread. Another fre- 
quent fault in stairways is in building them in 
curves, and nothing could well be more objection- 
able, it being necessary in such cases to step 
carefully on the outer edge of the circle at the 
constant risk of a dangerous fall. Yet such stair- 
ways are not only built in private houses, but also 
are frequently found in public buildings, where peo- 
ple often congregate in crowds. These winding 
staircases have before now become veritable death- 
traps in burning theatres, and their use should be 
absolutely prohibited by law in any public build- 
ing, and avoided persistently in any private house. 
In our dwellings the stairways are almost inva- 
riably too narrow, rarely exceeding three feet in 
width, and as a consequence the walls are marred 
every time a trunk or large piece of furniture is 
carried up or down. Three feet and a half should 
be insisted upon as the minimum width of a stair- 
case in a private house, and four feet should be 
secured whenever possible, even if it be at the 
expense of the parlor. 

There can be no prettier or more useful feature 
14 



IN THE BEGINNING 

in a summer home than a hallway two stones 
high, with a gallery running around the second 
floor, giving access to the several rooms. Such a 
room must always be comparatively cool and 
delightful in warm weather, and with a generous 
fireplace the ventilation is bound to be of the 
best. In such a room smoking may be indulged 
in freely without making the atmosphere dis- 
agreeable to those who do not indulge in tobacco. 
I bought the timber for this house in the log, 
and had it sawed up at the mill in the village. 
The machinery available was not extensive, but 
they could plane, tongue, groove, and bead, and 
make a quarter round, or a scotia. With this 
help everything else was done on the island, the 
window-sash only being brought from a distance. 
The materials all came from the lake shore, and 
the men who built the house were at times car- 
penters, farmers, guides, or trappers. I have 
never seen anywhere a more intelligent, capable, 
and faithful body of men. I suppose I have 
had in past years, from time to time, more than 
a hundred different men in my employ, in all 
sorts of labor, often under exasperating condi- 
tions, and yet I have never heard an unkind or 
quarrelsome word spoken by one to another. 

15 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

Some of these men are superb mechanics, the 
old-fashioned kind, who not only know all 
branches of their own trade thoroughly, but also 
much of kindred trades. I brought with me the 
design of a corner closet to be built in the dining- 
room, copied after an antique model containing 
those little diamond panes of glass which are so 
attractive. I showed the plans to Charlie Barrett, 
and asked him if he could build it. " I think 
so," he said musingly ; " I have n't any plane to 
work out those styles, but I guess I could do 
it." He did not appear at the island the next 
day, and I found out later that he had spent the 
time in a blacksmith shop making and tempering 
a plane to correspond with my drawing. That 
these people should be so skilful in the manage- 
ment of metals, with actually no training at all, 
is not less than marvellous to me. I have in my 
possession a steel hunting-knife of superior qual- 
ity and finish, made by one of my Maine friends. 
The blade is worked out of an old file, and the 
maker had no forge but the kitchen stove ; yet I 
am quite satisfied that I could not buy as good a 
knife in the trade centres of either America or 
Europe. 

During our first summer one of my men came 
16 



IN THE BEGINNING 

to me and said : " Now look here. You 're 
gettin' to have quite a lot of guests, and that 
makes quite a lot of slop, which you don't use, 
an' that 's waste. Now Jerry Oakes has got a hog 
that ain't fattenin' up as fast as he might, an' so 
Jerry wants to make a trade with you. He says 
he '11 weigh the hog now, an' then send him over 
to the island, an' you can feed him on the slop 
you 're wastin', and when you leave at the end of 
the season, we '11 weigh him again, send him back, 
and Jerry '11 pay you six cents for every pound 
he 's gained. Ain't that a fair trade ? " And 
the hog came and waxed fat, and the ingenious 
Yankee that engineered the " trade " got the 
profits for his perquisites, as he deserved ; but 
that was the first and last hog that ever took up 
his residence on the island, the profit not being 
sufficient to induce us to crave the society of his 
kind again. 

Generally we have brought our household ser- 
vants with us, supplementing the number, when 
necessary, with people from the neighborhood. 
Every year this has grown more difficult, as from 
the increasing number of summer visitors there is 
more work to do in the village and possibly 
greater profit to be gained. Still, we have had 

17 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

some most capable people with us in the past. 
Viola was not to be excelled as a laundress, a 
waitress, or in general housework. She never 
had much to say, being fully occupied in doing. 
Once passing through the hall where she was 
sweeping, I noticed the rug was covered with 
some white substance, and therefore asked, 
" What is that on the rug, Viola ? " 

" Salt," was the laconic answer. 

" Salt," I said. " Is that good for the rug ? " 

" It is," she responded ; and the woman that 
can satisfactorily answer two questions with a 
total of three syllables is a jewel to be carefully 
treasured. 

On another occasion I noticed an ugly brown 
spot on the lawn, a yard in diameter, near the 
laundry door, where shortly before had been only 
velvety green grass ; and as Viola was the first 
person I met after seeing it, I asked, " Viola, do 
you know what killed the grass there ? " 

" Hot water," was her reply. 

" Well, who," I demanded, " was fool enough 
to pour hot water on the grass ? " 

" I was," she replied with perfect calmness. 

Utterly disarmed, I could only weakly re- 
mark, " Well, I hope you won't do it again." 

18 



IN THE BEGINNING 

Her quiet " I won't " ended the interview. 
Solomon may have been wise for his age and 
generation, but he was not in the same class 
with Viola. 

Additional help was needed in the laundry on 
one occasion, and Hortense found it after break- 
fast in a hammock on the laundry porch. 

" So you have come to help us, have you ? " 
she asked ; " and what is your name ? " 

" Miss Wilder," was the response, as she con- 
tinued swinging. Her reign over the tubs was 
but a brief one. 

Of course I am the mildest-mannered of men, 
and once when a nursemaid of pure Celtic extrac- 
tion was leaving us, Hortense absolutely refused 
to give her a recommendation. Out of pure 
good nature (Hortense declares it was only want 
of conscience), I gave Nora a certificate that was 
worthy of framing. In return Nora came to my 
library to bid me good-by, but totally ignored 
Hortense. I can see the maiden now, dressed 
in her very best " afternoon-out " garments, as 
she stood in the doorway. 

"Good-by, Misther Dexter," she said. "Ye 
hev always threated me loik th' gintleman that 
ye are. There may be them as says ye hev a hoi 

19 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

timper, but as Pr me, I can only say I niver saw 
it." Hortense always laughs at this and persists 
in believing that, somehow or other, the remark 
was not intended to be complimentary. 

The plumbing about the house was started by 
a boat engineer assisted by one of the guides, 
Deck Huntoon, and later Deck became boss 
plumber. The adaptability of these men is 
something wonderful. They seem able to turn 
their hands to any sort of work with the least 
possible instruction. The plumbing was well 
done, and we have never been troubled with 
leaking pipes. At first four kerosene barrels, 
connected by short pieces of iron pipe, did duty 
for a tank, and later, when a professional plumber 
settled in the village, he built us a cedar tank 
and lined it with copper; but the barrels did 
very well for several years, and the water, even 
at first, had no taint of oil. For several years we 
used the lake water for all purposes, — and most 
excellent, pure water it was, — pumping it into the 
tank with a force pump worked by hand. To 
save labor, I got a hot-air pump at a cost of two 
or three hundred dollars, but it was little im- 
provement over hand-power. It pumped little 
if any faster than the hand pump, and a man still 

20 



IN THE BEGINNING 

had to spend his time watching it while it was 
working, for if he left it alone it was sure to 
run too fast or too slow, or do something that 
it ought not to do. As time passed, I became 
afraid to use the water of the lake for drinking 
purposes, the population on the shores having 
greatly increased. I had bought a farm of three 
hundred acres on the south shore, and I de- 
termined to bring my water from there by 
gravity. I dug a well on the hillside about 
150 feet above the surface of the lake and pro- 
posed to run a pipe from it to the island. All 
my friends told me it could not be done, except 
Bridgewater, who said it could be done easily. 
He was an engineer with an international rep- 
utation, and his opinion comforted me greatly. 
Unfortunately he failed to tell me how it 
was to be done so easily, and later when I 
got well into the job I wished I had thought 
to ask ; but we did it ourselves with no tools 
at all except a spade, a crowbar, a wrench, 
an axe, and fifty oil-barrels. The distance 
across the water was just half a mile, for we 
had measured it on the ice the winter before 
we laid the pipe. The bottom was very favor- 
able, with no steep declivities, running down 

21 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

from the island shore gradually to a depth of 
sixty-three feet and then rising a little more 
abruptly to the main shore. Our pipe was of 
galvanized iron, i % inches in diameter, and came 
in lengths of about sixteen feet. The ends 
had to be screwed together, and I felt that 
this could not be done successfully on a boat 
constantly kept in motion by the waves, and 
you never can be sure of calm water on the 
lake for more than a couple of hours at a time. 
In the end we put the pipe together in four 
sections, each about 700 feet long, and these 
were laid up the hill on the farm shore. They 
were kept off the ground by poles, pegged down 
solid, so that they would not move when we 
started to drag the pipe down the hill. One 
danger which we did not dare to risk was getting 
the pipe jammed between rocks on the bottom ; 
and to avoid the possibility of this, we decided 
to float the pipe over near the surface. We 
therefore borrowed all the empty oil barrels 
we could find in the village, carried them to the 
farm shore, and tying a piece of rope around 
each, left three or four feet of it hanging. Then 
we put a plug in the end of the first section of 
pipe and waited for a calm day. When it came 

22 



IN THE BEGINNING 

we went over in the little steamboat, one man 
remaining in her with the engineer, to manage 
the tow line. One man looked after the barrels, 
another after the pipe, and three men went up the 
hill to ease the pipe down when we were ready, 
while I stood on the shore with a megaphone and 
gave the word of command. The tow line from 
the boat was fastened to the pipe, an oil barrel 
tied a little farther up to act as a buoy, and at a 
word the engine started and the pipe moved 
easily down the hill. Every few lengths another 
barrel was fastened to the pipe and the whole 
moved out into the lake without a hitch. When 
the end of the first section reached the shore, 
the boat stopped and the second section was 
quickly fastened to it with a union joint. Again 
we started, and the two sections seemed to move 
as easily as the first alone had done, and so the 
others followed, and the end of the pipe was 
safely landed on the island. The floating barrels 
looked like the corks of a colossal fish-net, quite 
crooked at first, but a little steady pulling by a 
couple of stout men soon straightened it out. A 
few extra lengths were screwed to the island end 
to allow for the depth of water, and then we cut 
loose the barrels, one after another, and the pipe 

23 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

sank safely to the bottom, having been laid in 
sixty-three feet of water, half a mile in length, in 
one hour and twenty-two minutes. In the fall, 
when we leave the island, the pipe is disconnected 
at the shore ends and the whole lies safely on the 
bottom below the possible action of ice or frost. 
It has worked to perfection for several years past, 
and water flows freely into our tank, giving us an 
ample supply at all times. 

It was a matter of not a little difficulty to turn 
some acres of woodland into a lawn. Of course 
I could have cut down all the trees, and with 
plough and harrow quickly graded it into proper 
slopes, but I would willingly do anything rather 
than lose my trees. They were the beauty of 
the island, and grass and flowers would be a poor 
exchange for these monarch Birches, Pines, and 
Spruces. Growing in the thick woods, covered 
with moss and ferns, the roots of even the largest 
trees were close to the surface. Cutting out the 
underbrush let in the sunlight, which killed the 
ferns and moss, leaving bare the great roots. So 
earth had to be mounded over them, and, to 
avoid tearing the roots, the tilling of the soil had 
to be done slowly with shovel and pick, instead 
of rapidly with plough and harrow. But it was 

24 




Trees and Lawn 



IN THE BEGINNING 

worth the trouble, time, and expense to save 
these grand old trees, which bore traces in every 
limb of their struggle for existence. Twisted, 
turned, and crooked, it would be impossible for 
man to rear them thus if he would. Once I saw 
John Burroughs standing on the hillside gazing 
with evident delight upon these gnarled old 
trunks. He mused awhile, and then his face lit 
up with a smile, and he nodded his good, gray 
head, and said quietly, " Yes, they 're classic ! 
That 's it ! Classic ! " 

The first trail from the wharf to the house I 
spotted on the trees myself, and the men followed 
with their axes and cleared out the path indicated. 
Then the stumps were taken out, and plough and 
harrow levelled off the surface. This was only 
provisional road-making, of course. We needed 
earth in every direction to fill hollows, and to 
cover the roots of trees, and the only place we 
could get it was from our road-bed. We carted 
away the good soil and filled the holes we had made 
with rocks and stones, taken from the spaces we 
had gone over with pick and shovel, using enough 
of the underlying gravel to cover these rocks and 
make a smooth surface for our road. This gravel 
was what is known as hard pan, — a mixture of 

25 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

gravel and clay, which when exposed to the sun 
became very firm and hard, making with its 
foundation of stone a most excellent road. 

It is said that it takes two hundred years of 
patient care to produce a perfect lawn, and judg- 
ing from the slow improvement of my own sod, 
I am almost inclined to believe it. When you 
attempt to cultivate a piece of land such as that on 
the island, you will find that much of what you 
thought was solid earth is in fact largely com- 
posed of scurf, half-decayed wood, old tree-trunks, 
and the like. As these decay still further, the 
surface falls off into hollows, and you are tempted 
to dig up once more the entire plot, but do not 
do so. You would lose thereby the effect of 
work already done, and go back to where you 
were years before. It is much better to cart 
fresh earth to the spot, and fill in the hollows, 
sowing grass-seed on the top. A very consider- 
able portion of our lawn is in bad condition owing 
to the quality of the seed which was sown. At 
first, being ignorant, I presumed the best seed 
for the lawn must be the mixed lawn-grass seed of 
the dealers, which they praised, so highly. When 
the seed developed into plants, I found to my 
horror that I had nearly a solid mass of what is 

26 



IN THE BEGINNING 

called Sheep's Fescue. Now, Sheep's Fescue 
is rather a fine grass which grows in a compact 
tuft, and in growing, its roots work up high in 
the centre of this tuft; then, when the lawn-mower 
passes, it cuts down into the roots in the centre, 
leaving an ugly, dead, brown spot. It may be 
that this species of grass is looked upon with 
approval by sheep, as is suggested by its name, 
but no animal with a higher degree of intelligence 
than a sheep would sow such seed on a lawn. 
Of late years I have bought only pure seed of 
a single variety, and have found Kentucky Blue- 
grass the best. Red-top is also good and per- 
fectly hardy. With either I mix Alsike Clover, 
which has a beautiful effect on the lawn, and 
gives a noticeable fragrance to the summer's 
breeze. 

When we came to clear out the underbrush on 
the island, we found innumerable small trees 
everywhere. I insisted that the man with the 
axe should leave one of these young trees stand- 
ing within at least every ten feet, picking out 
the best for saving, and in case of doubt, to leave 
two untouched until I decided their fate myself. 
Of course, none of the large Birches were to be 
cut at all. Our principal shade-tree, either 

27 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

among the old or young groups, was the Birch, 
of which we had two species, the Paper, or Canoe 
Birch, and the Yellow, or Silver Birch. The 
well-known Rock, or Sugar Maple, is common in 
this region. A few Elms are also to be found; 
but as we had none on the island, I transplanted 
a dozen young trees some years ago, and all 
lived and are thriving. One of the most beauti- 
ful of our smaller trees is the Mountain Ash, 
which grows freely in this part of Maine. In 
the forest it grows tall, and is apt to be some- 
what ungainly, but given plenty of space it 
develops symmetrically and is a most charming 
feature on the lawn, with its clusters of white 
blossoms in the spring, and its brilliant bunches 
of red berries in the fall. A year of profuse 
bearing is sure to be followed by a season of 
scarcity ; and when the crop of berries has been 
remarkably generous, we will often have two 
successive years with scarcely any fruit. The 
White Pine once covered Maine with dense for- 
ests, while now there are but few left in the State. 
We have, however, about six large trees on the 
island, and numerous small ones are scattered 
about in the woods and on the lawn. The 
Spruce still is present in the forests in consider- 

28 



IN THE BEGINNING 

able numbers, but the trunks are rapidly being 
converted into wood pulp. For structural pur- 
poses in building, the Spruce has taken the place 
of the Pine. This tree when small, if given 
plenty of room, looks well on the lawn, but is 
not equal to the Balsam Fir in my opinion. The 
inner branches of the Fir die off as the tree grows 
old, and unless these are carefully pruned away, 
the tree soon assumes a ragged appearance. It is 
found everywhere in this part of Maine, and its 
tender sprouts are eagerly gathered by summer 
visitors to make into pillows, which preserve their 
delightful fragrance for years. The best time to 
gather the balsam tips for this purpose is in June 
or early in July, when the young sprigs have just 
started out from the ends of the branches. They 
are tender and soft then, and, it always seemed to 
me, of more delicate fragrance than if gathered 
later. The trunk of the Fir is of little value for 
timber, as the heart is apt to decay before reach- 
ing a very large size. An important tree here is 
the White Cedar, which grows everywhere in 
moist grounds. It is attractive on the lawn if 
planted out when small, and all are familiar with 
it when used for hedges under the name of Arbor 
Vitae. The wood is the most valuable now 

29 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

standing in the forests of Maine, being largely 
used in the building of boats and for shingles. 
The American Larch, Tamarack, or Hackma- 
tack, grows in moist lands in this region, and its 
timber is valuable ; the curved trunks from the 
swamps making excellent knees for large boats. 
The young tree is handsome, and will grow well 
even in comparatively dry situations. I have 
tried a number of other shade-trees, reputed to 
be hardy, but without much success. A row of 
Weeping Willows planted at the shore of the 
lake lived for two or three years, and grew rap- 
idly, and then an especially severe winter killed 
them all. 

All these trees may be successfully transplanted, 
with proper care. The first necessity is to save 
as many of the roots as possible; and in this you 
will find your native hard to manage, for if you 
leave him to his own devices he will simply thrust 
a bar under the young tree, and wrench it loose, 
getting only such roots as may happen to come 
with the trunk. Maples taken up in this rough 
way often live, but it will take several years for 
them to recover after such a rude mauling and 
show signs of growth. First of all, then, take 
your tree up carefully, and get with it every pos- 

30 



IN THE BEGINNING 

sible root. Before re-planting, trim back the 
young branches freely, remembering that a 
branch should be cut back for every broken root. 
In setting the tree out, let the hole dug for it 
be of ample size, so that the roots may be spread 
out to their full extent. See to this carefully, 
and don't permit the roots to be doubled back in 
a bunch. Make the earth snug and firm about 
the roots, and then if you will keep the soil well 
moistened for a few days, you will find that your 
tree will take kindly to its new home. It will be 
necessary to exercise greater care than ordinary 
in getting all the roots of Pines, Firs, or Spruces, 
if you would not lose a large portion of your 
trees. All these trees may be transplanted in the 
fall ; but the spring is the proper time, just as the 
buds begin to swell. With ordinary care I find 
I lose scarcely any trees transplanted in May, 
while, of those moved in September, fully one 
half died, not getting well rooted before the ad- 
vent of cold weather. 



3i 



CHAPTER II 

MEN OF MAINE 
** What a piece of work is man ! " 

THE late James G. Blaine once asserted 
that the purest bred of Anglo-Saxons 
on earth to-day was to be found in 
northern Maine. This was scarcely an exaggera- 
tion, for Maine was peopled by the Puritans from 
Massachusetts Bay, and since then the migration 
of different races from Europe has swept by in a 
stream, flowing ever westward, and no Celt, Latin, 
or Teuton has ever apparently penetrated these 
wilds with the exception of now and then a 
French-Canadian from over the northern border, 
or a Blue-Nose from the eastward ; and to-day 
the blue-eyed, light-haired type of man predomi- 
nates, — the original Simon-pure Yankee, child of 
the Pilgrim. A chapter of the Colonial Dames, 
if it were established here, would be forced to take 
to its bosom every adult female in Insley, if the 
tracing of one's descent from those who founded 

32 



MEN OF MAINE 

a nation was the real qualification for member- 
ship. Many a silk-gowned matron of our cities 
would give much if she could claim a genealogy 
showing such a host of colonial celebrities as can 
that good woman of Insley who gains an honest 
livelihood at the wash-tub, or by repairing a 
watch or a clock at odd moments. Of course I 
know she is not eligible as a Dame ; the wash- 
tub may be at the other end of the line, but not 
this. " Kind o' curious, ain't it? " . 

Both the men and women of Insley show an 
odd combination of thrift and shiftlessness. One 
guide, when out of employment, simply sits down 
in a corner and smokes, while his neighbor chops 
wood and works in his garden from dawn until 
dark, and then, lighting a lantern, picks up worms 
for bait until bedtime. Passing through the vil- 
lage almost any day in summer, and at almost 
any hour, you will see a quartet of able-bodied 
men busily playing croquet, though there may be 
wood to chop or grass to cut. Like all Yankees, 
they are keen on a " trade," and never willingly 
let a dollar pass by without getting a percentage 
out of it ; yet on one occasion a steamboat-captain, 
having brought a party to the village from a hotel 
at the foot of the lake, absolutely refused to take 
3 33 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

them back until he had finished a series of games 
of croquet, and he paid no attention to them, as 
he saw them prepare to drive back by the road, 
though this meant a loss of several dollars to his 
boat. The reverse of this picture is that of a 
good old farmer who on his death-bed sent for 
his sons to come that he might bid them good- 
by, and, after having pressed the hand of each, 
he sank back wearily on his pillow, murmuring 
feebly, " Boys, when I 'm gone, you 'd better get 
in that hay ; I reckon it 's goin' to rain." 

Some of the women are tremendous workers 
and need restraint rather than urging, while 
others, unless you tell them of each particular 
thing you wish done, will sit for hours in a rock- 
ing-chair. If they would read or write or go to 
bed, I would not mind it, but this everlasting 
rocking drives me wild. 

I know of a storekeeper in northern New 
York who, when asked for " turkey-red," replied, 
" I did keep it, but every one got askin' for it, 
and I was always a-gittin' up to take it down 
off'n the shelves, so I quit keeping it." Not so 
in Insley. Go to the general store and ask for a 
brass bedstead, a steam whistle, a side-saddle, and 
half a dozen lobsters, and the telephone, telegraph, 

34 



MEN OF MAINE 

and express company will be pressed into service 
at once, and you may expect to receive any or all 
of these articles by the next day at the furthest. 
It has been a common saying amongst us, that if 
Harry Furbish could not get what you wanted, 
Charlie Barrett could make it. It is true, too, — 
absolutely so. I have had the shattered cast-iron 
legs of a sewing-machine repaired by these people 
so that the places of fracture could not be seen, a 
main spring supplied to a watch, and a new can- 
vas cover, bound with leather, made for a trunk. 
That these people are " cute " and " cunnin' " 
in a " trade " goes without saying, being Yankees. 
To them business is a game to be played for all 
there is in it, and they strive to win as much for 
the real pleasure of winning as from any motive 
of gain. Sentiment has no standing at all here in 
business, and a man will sell his home or his 
occupation without hesitation, if he thinks he can 
make a good trade, or with equal readiness will 
buy out a business of which he at the time knows 
nothing. Offer the blacksmith " a right smart 
chance" at a watch, clock, and jewelry establish- 
ment, and he will take it in a jiffy, and undoubt- 
edly make a success of it. Deck Huntoon had a 
fine horse on the island one summer which he 

35 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

called " General." Fasten the General to a 
stump or a rock and yell " Hike there ! " and the 
obstruction had to come if the harness held. The 
following year I found a sorry-looking beast on 
the island in the General's place. 

" Why ! " I exclaimed, " that 's not the Gen- 
eral!" 

" No," said Deck, " I sold the General." 

" Sold the General ! " I said with surprise. 
"Why in the world did you do that?" 

"Well," drawled Deck, "I calculate that if 
any man wants anythin' I 've got more 'n I want 
it, he 's goin' to git it." 

Notwithstanding an obvious ease of conscience 
when it comes to a trade, the Maine man is con- 
spicuously honest. I have known an angler to 
leave a case of expensive rods on the public 
wharf for several days, and they were there when 
he returned, just as he left them, only some one 
had stood the case under shelter so that it might 
not be damaged by rain. When our house was 
being built, I lived in a log cabin alone on the 
island, and, unprotected by lock or key, kept by 
me several hundred dollars in small bills and 
silver, for convenience in paying off the men. I 
left my camp tenantless for hours in the daytime, 

36 




S3 



*« < 



MEN OF MAINE 

and slept there soundly at night, without suffer- 
ing the loss of a penny or ever having a feeling 
of uneasiness. Speaking of this to Deck once as 
something remarkable, his big blue eyes opened 
wide in astonishment as he asked, "Why, how is 
it down your way ? " 

"In the city," I responded, " I dare not go 
out of my door without seeing that it is locked 
behind me, for fear some one may slip in and 
carry off all he can lay hands on." 

" My !" said Deck, shaking his head, " I 'd hate 
to live in a town like that." 

A business man may "fail up," and compound 
with his creditors for so much on the dollar, in 
the regular course of trade, without losing caste 
among his fellows ; nevertheless, by far the 
greater number of people are frugal and eco- 
nomical, never spend what they have n't got, 
pay their debts in full, and therefore don't 
" fail up." Talking with Aaron Soule once 
on the expense of living, he remarked, " I tell 
you, you can't live and bring up a family on 
less 'n about two hundred and forty dollars a 
year;" adding hastily, "No, not in right good 
shape." 

A thrifty lass is Mary McManus, who makes 
37 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

a comfortable living caring for the finger-nails of 
many a fair woman. Calling one day on a client 
whose father had lately died, she heard a member 
of the family ask, " What shall we do with this 
piece of bombazine ? " it having done its solemn 
duty, hanging by the front door. 

" Oh, do give it to me! " said Mary. 

" Mercy, child, what would you do with it? " 

" Oh, I '11 find some use for it," answered 
Mary, evasively. 

She got it, and taking advantage of a similar 
opportunity later, from the two she made a most 
attractive black petticoat, and now goes about her 
work serenely with those mourning emblems 
draped about her slim figure. Mary is not a 
Maine woman, but she could give a Yankee girl 
points on economy. 

Maine for half a century past has had a 
series of laws, of constantly increasing severity, 
prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors within 
her borders. Yet I have travelled from New 
Orleans to northern Maine within the space of a 
few weeks and never saw an intoxicated man 
until I got north of Portland. I do not know 
that I ever passed north of Portland without see- 
ing at least one passenger much the worse for 

38 



MEN OF MAINE 

liquor. Once at Lewiston, when the State fair 
was in session, the car filled up with men going 
home from the fair, of whom quite one half had 
evidently been drinking too much. A chatty old 
man of the party who took a seat beside me told 
me that on the fair grounds there were not less 
than twenty booths in which liquor was openly 
sold. " That 's our Depity Sheriff," he said, with 
a smile, pointing to a big fellow with flushed 
face and bloodshot eyes, who seemed to be mak- 
ing for the platform. " Sit down, Jim," he 
yelled. " Do ye want yer neck broke ? " As 
Jim sat down, the old man turned to me confid- 
ingly and whispered, " About Monday Jim '11 
snake in some fellow up our way for sellin' 
liq'r." 

An investigating committee at Lewiston re- 
ported that there were not less than fifty places 
in that city where liquor was being openly sold, 
and of these fifty the names of not less than 
thirty-nine of them appeared on the court dockets 
under indictments in the year 1899, a g am st whom 
182 complaints had been made, out of which 
sixty-nine convictions, followed by fines, were 
had, only one dealer having been sent to prison. 
The fines averaged $324, and the committee 

39 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

declared that none of these men stopped busi- 
ness for a day, the bar-tenders continuing to 
serve liquor while their employers were receiv- 
ing the sentence of the court. 

No man need go thirsty in Maine, even though 
he never touches a drop of water. Order what 
you will at almost any hotel or restaurant, and 
the chances are that you will get it, though your 
champagne may be served in a teapot and 
your Bass's ale in a coffee-cup. Tell the first 
man you meet that you want a drink, and it is 
quite possible that he will lead you into a side- 
street, and there extract a whiskey bottle from 
his capacious pockets. In our forest town there 
are not less than four men who have taken out 
United States licenses to sell liquor. This 
does not give them the right to sell in a State 
where selling is prohibited, but without such a 
license the seller has the Federal as well as the 
State authorities to contend with. 

Under the law a Deputy Sheriff has the right 
to visit the office of an express company, and if 
he simply suspects that a package contains in- 
toxicating liquor, he has the right to open and 
examine it. If he finds nothing, he simply closes 
it up again, while if he finds liquor he takes it 

40 



MEN OF MAINE 

into his possession, and notifies the consignee to 
appear before a magistrate and prove, if he can, 
that he proposes to make a proper use of it. 
The magistrate may then, in his discretion, return 
it, or destroy it, or hold it under advisement in 
his own cellar. 

The Maine man will not willingly interfere 
with the traffic if such interference means a loss 
to general trade. The large hotels in the cities 
keep open bar, and the place is raided only often 
enough to make the fines count as a fair license 
fee. As a stranger I stood by the clerk's desk 
of a city hotel and heard a gentleman complain 
loudly of the quality of the gin cock-tail served 
at the hotel bar. " Front " was summoned and 
quickly brought the white-aproned bar-tender 
to the desk, where complaint and answer were 
volubly gone over in my presence, the bar- 
tender contending that the true source of com- 
plaint was that the gentleman only desired a 
larger measure of gin. " He wants his cock- 
tails mixed in a beer-mug," the artist declared. 
There was not the slightest attempt at conceal- 
ment of the traffic. The large summer hotels 
supply liquors of all kinds to their guests, and 
wine is served at meals in public. To stop this 

4i 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

would drive visitors elsewhere, and this Maine 
will not do. Such hotels are not raided as long 
as the proprietors confine their ministrations to 
the guests of the hotel and do not sell liquor to 
the natives. 

Packages may come, by freight or express, to 
summer visitors, and though billed as wine or 
liquor, with even the name of the beverage 
stamped in bold letters on the box or barrel, the 
sheriff never sees them. The native has to be 
more careful, and either has his box consigned to 
a stranger, or he has an innocent barrel of flour 
sent to him with a demijohn concealed in the 
centre. Once this liquor is in the hands of the 
owner it is promptly consumed, even though 
the effort reduces him to a state of stupefaction. 
Beer and other light drinks take up too much 
room, so that those who crave stimulants of any 
kind are forced to obtain them in a highly con- 
centrated form, and whiskey and rum, of a poor 
quality, are the ordinary beverages. The diffi- 
culty and delay in getting the liquor, and the 
danger in keeping it, are such that once in hand 
it is promptly consumed with the effect of making 
drunkards of the very men the law was framed 
to protect. The temptation of the open saloon, 

42 



MEN OF MAINE 

with its bright lights and comfortable surround- 
ings, has never been a factor in Maine life for 
quite two generations, yet I know of no part of 
the United States where drunkards are so com- 
mon, in proportion to population, as in the 
rural districts of Maine. Looking over a list of 
divorces granted at a single term of a county 
court, I found that in four out of seven cases 
the cause alleged was habitual drunkenness, 
though all of the parties had been born since 
Maine had adopted her prohibitory laws. 

As far as my observation goes, I am con- 
vinced that prohibition in Maine does not pro- 
hibit, and though it undoubtedly reduces the 
number of moderate drinkers, it does not reduce 
drunkenness, but rather tends to increase it, and 
I feel quite sure that a wide-spread and persistent 
violation of any law must have in time a disas- 
trous effect upon the character of the people of 
the State. 

Notwithstanding the evils of intemperance, I 
am ready to confess to a great fondness, coupled 
with not a little respect, for " Cal," who for so 
many years held undisputed claim to the title 
of "Village Drunkard." My good opinion of 
Cal was not gained by reason of his inordinate 

43 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

consumption of strong liquor, but in spite of it ; 
for Cal, to tell the truth, was usually drunk, — not 
stupidly drunk, but brilliantly so ; never fighting 
drunk, but invariably good-natured. Sober, he 
was quiet and retiring; half-seas-over, he was 
genial and sociable ; while drunk, he was a genius. 

In the latter condition he compiled his weekly 
half-column of local items for the county paper, 
and much of it was as amusing as any of the work 
of newspaper wits with a national reputation. 
Many years ago Cal walked unsteadily up the 
village street, and seating himself upon the steps 
of the little hotel, gazed about him upon the 
people waiting for the stage. A quiet lad in an 
armchair caught his eye, and then, gathering 
himself together for a moment, he broke out 
with, " Willie, you 're a good-hearted boy, but 
you can't whistle worth a d — n." Having set- 
tled Willie, he turned upon the assembled sports- 
men, and after examining them carefully for a 
moment, remarked philosophically, " Well, after 
all, folks is very much like other people." Then 
he discovered me, and said pleasantly, " I believe 
this is the first time I ever saw Mr. Dexter." 

" Is that so, Cal ? " I asked. " It 's not the first 
time I 've seen you." 

44 



MEN OF MAINE 

" Well," said Cal, " did you ever see me drunk 
before ? " 

" Yes," I answered, " I think I have, and I 've 
seen you half drunk, and, unless I am mistaken, 
I 've seen you sober." 

" Well, maybe you have, and maybe you Ve 
got a vivid imagination," was his parting obser- 
vation. 

I recall his announcement for the paper of the 
arrival of one of the prominent summer visitors 
on one occasion. It was as follows : " Dr. Bring- 
hurst arrived last Tuesday, accompanied by his 
little dog, Tippy, who during the past winter 
has acquired seven new diseases." 

Here is another item : — 

" About seven acres on the island have been 
painted red. This includes the roofs of all of 
Mr. Dexter's buildings." 

Once a sportsman asked after his wife, to 
whom Cal was invariably kind and devoted ; and 
he replied cheerfully, " Oh, she 's gettin' so shift- 
less she won't even cut the wood." 

He was sitting in the store one night with his 
head in his hands, apparently oblivious to all 
about him, when the door opened and a stranger 
entered. " How are you, Fuller ? " said some one. 

45 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

At that Cal raised his head, looked at the 
stranger inquiringly and asked unsteadily, " Are 
you Fuller? " 

" Yes," said the man. 

" Well," said Cal, with a benign smile, " if 
you 're fuller 'n I am, God help you ! " 

I think Jim Brown could, and would, drink 
more strong liquor than any man I ever saw, 
and, no matter how much he took, it never 
seemed to affect him in the slightest degree, in 
looks, in gait, or in speech. I never had Jim 
for a guide, but there were few in the region with 
wider knowledge of the habits of fish and game. 
He studied the wind, the weather, and the sea- 
son, and the sum of them all sent him to a certain 
spot at a certain hour, and he always got fish. If 
you supplied him freely with strong drink, you 
could get the best there was in him, otherwise 
not. Once starting for a week's camping trip, 
the sportsman turned over to Jim a gallon of 
whiskey, informing him that this was his allow- 
ance for the week. Before nightfall Jim had 
taken every drop of the liquor, and left the 
empty jug beside the trail. Yet all day Jim 
kept up steadily with the party, with seventy 
pounds of luggage on his back. Once when in 

46 



MEN OF MAINE 

camp two sportsmen had a bottle of claret be- 
tween them, and Jim expected much when his 
turn at the table came. To his disgust, when 
his employers had moved to the doorway and 
Jim was ready to sit down, he found the remain- 
ing half bottle had been corked up and put back 
on the shelf. After taking in the full significance 
of the situation, Jim turned to his fellow-guide 
and said, " Billy, do you know, this is the first 
time in three year I Ve sat down to my dinner 
without my claret." 

While the house was being built, we lived for 
a time at the little hotel in Insley, and one of the 
interesting characters of the region, Squire Burke, 
made the hotel his home. He took great interest 
in our operations on the island, and one evening 
while sitting with him in the office, he asked me 
impressively, — 

"What, Mr. Dexter, do you propose to do 
about guests ? " 

" Do about them ? I hardly understand you." 

"Well," he continued, waving his hand now 
and then with a peculiar little jerk with which he 
invariably punctuated his sentences, — "Well, I 
suppose you will have guests at times." 

"Yes," I answered, "undoubtedly." 
47 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

" Well, I should suppose," said the Squire, 
" that they would feel more comfortable if they 
were allowed to bear a part of the expense of 
keeping up the house." 

" I hardly know about that, Squire," I said 
with a smile. " I Ve had guests elsewhere, and 
they never seemed troubled from that cause." 

Our first dinner-party was given one day at 
high noon, to some of our acquaintances at the 
Insley Lake House, and the Squire was an ap- 
preciative guest. As he mounted the steps of 
the hotel on his return, one of the villagers re- 
marked to the old man : " Rather a windy day for 
ye to be out, Squire. Ye hain't ketched cold, 
hev ye ? " 

" No," said the Squire, drawing himself up to 
his full height ; " I have been dining, at the 
Island, and the flushed appearance of my face, 
comes from the wine, we had at dinner." 

That dinner-party was evidently quite an event 
in the old man's life, and he talked it all over 
afterwards with one of the ladies who had been 
present. 

" I got that letter, inviting me to the dinner, 
and at first I thought it was from Mr. Dexter, 
but I found out afterwards, it was from Mrs. 

48 



MEN OF MAINE 

Dexter, and a very, remarkable, letter, it was. I 
will keep that letter ; " and the Squire paused and 
mused awhile. Then he asked, " Did you notice 
that soup ? " Yes, the lady had noticed it. " I 
have dined, in the past, I presume, at some of 
the best hotels in all New England, and that was 
very, remarkable, soup. It was good ! Then 
there was that lettis ! I could n't eat it at first, 
because I only had a fork, so I asked for a knife. 
Did you hear me ask for a knife ? Well, I 
asked for a knife, and then I got along first-rate. 
Now lettis, is not a very good tastin' vegetable, 
natur'ly, but this lettis, had a sauce on it, that 
was good. Then, did you notice those ///-el 
cups of coffee, and those ///-el spoons ? Well, I 
asked Mrs. Dexter, and she told me, that those 
///-el spoons, were just made, for those ///-el 
cups." 

The old Squire rests in the graveyard by the 
brook, and his tall form, with that face so like to 
Emerson's, is seen no more upon the village 
streets. His graceful courtesy and his kindly 
greetings are but a memory. Peace to thy 
ashes, gentle Squire ! 

Ned Grant was a famous trapper in the region 
years ago, and his quaint phrases, slowly drawled 
4 49 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

out, were often very amusing. Once going into 
Winnebago, the road seemed to divide, one trail 
making off more to the left. We took the right- 
hand trail, and as one of the wheels of the buck- 
board mounted a rock as big as a tea-table, I 
asked Ned where the other trail went. " Oh," 
he said, " that 's the old trail. They abandoned 
it because it was a leetle mite rough." 

Passing a clearing in which there was a dilapi- 
dated barn and a ruined house, the surrounding 
land being remarkable solely for the number and 
size of the rocks on its surface, I asked Ned what 
had become of the tenant. " Oh, he 's retired," 
answered Ned, "made his fortin' and retired. 
Ye see that was n't hard for him to do, for his 
farm was good strong land. It had to be strong, 
or it could n't 'a' held up so many big rocks." 

Once after a successful day, Ned and I had a 
pint of champagne together, drinking it out of 
tin cups, — a horrible profanation. Ned smacked 
his lips over it and remarked critically : " That 
ain't a bad sort o' drink. I should think that 
'ud be first-rate to drink at meals instead o' tea." 

Every one who has fished in the Insley region 
during the past thirty or forty years knows old 
Richardson. A number of years ago I was down 

5o 



MEN OF MAINE 

on the lower lakes with a party, and we stayed at 
a hotel of which he was then the proprietor. In 
the evening one of my friends was looking over 
the register, and the old man was peering over 
his shoulder. Suddenly his long bony finger was 
stretched out and rested on a name on the page 
before him. " What do ye make that out to be ? " 
he asked. 

" That, said my friend, " why, that 's very 
plain. It's <W. H. Ramsbottom."' 

" Well, that 's what I thought it were," said the 
old man, with a relieved expression. " But, do 
you know, all the time he was here I was afraid 
to call him it, for fear he 'd think I was sassin' 
him." 

Sitting around the camp-fire one night, the 
conversation turned on odd things to eat, and 
from the common rat, bird's nests, and the musk- 
rat the extreme appeared to be reached with 
skunks and snakes as a diet ; but one of the 
guides was ready for a deeper plunge, and as- 
serted in rather a sceptical tone, as if he hardly 
expected to be believed, that he had heard " that 
there 's places where they eat mushrooms." 

There is n't a kinder-hearted fellow in the 
region than Frank Philbrick, a good guide, and 

5i 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

always a faithful workman. He was handling a 
pick one day on the island when a hornet, who 
seemed much disturbed, came buzzing about, and 
Frank made two or three vigorous passes at it 
with his hat. " You be n't afraid of hornets, be 
you, Frank ? " asked Deck Huntoon, who still 
continued to wield his pick near by. 

" All I mind 's their sting," said Frank ; " I 
like their looks first-rate." 

Driving once through a neighboring village 
with my friend, the Deputy Sheriff, I asked him 
what churches they had there. " Two," said the 
Deputy. " One is the Congregational, and the 
other a sort of a Union Chap-el." 

" And what denominations worship there ? " 

"The Universalists, the Unitarians, and the 
Free Will Baptis'." 

" That 's an interesting combination," I ob- 
served. " To which body do you belong ? " 

" To none of 'em," he answered ; " I 'm what 
they call a Christian Baptis'." 

"Indeed," I said, "are there many of your 
faith up here ? " 

" No," he answered solemnly ; " I am the only 

»> 
one. 

I have often wondered how my friend the 

52 



MEN OF MAINE 

Deputy ever found out that he was a " Christian 
Baptis'." 

Many of the words and phrases in common 
use are of special interest, and some are easily 
traced to a local birthplace. For instance, many 
years ago a French-Canadian by the name of 
Boubier settled in an adjoining township, and the 
scattered houses thereabout became known as 
Boubier Town, to be finally corrupted into 
Boobytown, and the inhabitants are now uni- 
formly known as Boobies. A guide in the re- 
gion claims the name of Ex-a-ve-ra, a puzzle 
at first, but quickly solved when its owner was 
asked to spell it. The spelling made it Xavier. 
The mother had read of the Saint and named her 
boy after him, she and her friends pronouncing it 
as they would. The waterways running up into 
the marshes are uniformly referred to as " logans," 
while the little insects that live there in summer 
and greet you so cordially when you intrude 
upon them are always spoken of as " minges," 
and the flat, bottom land in the valley is called 
the " medder ground." Now, this is not at all 
remarkable. It is their mode of pronunciation 
and it suits them, and that is the end of it. 
Boston gives herself full liberty in such matters, 

53 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

and pray, why not Insley also ? The Hub is 
distinguished for a wonderfully good grocery- 
store of which Mr. S. S. Pierce was the founder. 
Now, all the English-speaking world know per- 
fectly well what the letters P-i-e-r-c-e spell, ex- 
cept Boston, and she serenely declares that these 
letters spell Purse. That she may be consistent, 
she also insists that it was Franklin Purse who 
was fourteenth President of the United States. 
Doubtless they carry this to the bitter end, and a 
business man of Boston is pursed with regret if he 
misses an opportunity to put money in his pierce. 
But what do Boston people do with their brows 
and their lips? Purse them or pierce them? 

One hard-worked word in Maine is " trade." 
All sorts of buying, selling, exchanging, or, so far 
as I can understand, entering into any sort of a 
contract, is to " make a trade." The Deacons 
of the Church make a trade with the clergyman 
for his services, and when I told Al Wilbur that 
Mrs. Landell's French maid was engaged to be 
married to one of the guides and that she could 
not speak a word of English, Al remarked with 
lively interest, " Well, I don't see how they made 
the trade then." 

When these men go off into the woods, they 
54 



MEN OF MAINE 

carry their luggage in a sack on their backs, and 
from this they have coined the verb " to sack," 
meaning " to carry." In its application it is usually 
confined to comparatively light burdens. Thus 
I never heard a man say he would sack off a load 
of rocks, but they do " sack out" the underbrush 
when they take up an armful. One of these men 
once said to me, " Did you see that little bird ? 
He pulled the fibres out of that door-mat and 
sacked off all he could carry." Another Maine 
man speaking of a stormy night in winter said, 
" It was awfully doin' outside that night." 

I have not dwelt on many expressions peculiar 
in a large degree to New England as they are 
familiar to all. Many are not Americanisms, 
but are survivals of old English expressions, 
which, disappearing in the old country, have 
been preserved in the new. An interesting ex- 
ample of this was noted at the time of the death 
of Ralph Waldo Emerson. A biographer stated 
that the Emerson family came to America in 
1630 from the Parish of Woodhill, in the valley 
of the great Ouse. This statement, repeated in 
the London Athenaeum, was challenged by a local 
historian, who declared that there was no such 
Parish as Woodhill in the valley. More careful 

55 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

research, however, disclosed the fact that in 1630 
there was a Parish of Woodhill, in County Bed- 
ford, in this valley, but that the name had been 
gradually contracted until nothing but " Odell " 
was left of it, the original name surviving in the 
traditions of the Emerson family. 

The Maine man dislikes to receive commands, 
and is therefore chary about giving them, even 
when clothed with ample authority, and instead 
of bidding another to do thus and so, is apt to 
reduce the command to a question, saying to one, 
" Ain't it pretty nigh time to feed the horse ? " 
or to another, " How 'd it be to try your bar on 
that far corner ? " The Maine man has the 
American dislike to commands in a superlative 
degree, and the way they avoid giving direct 
orders to each other is interesting. There is 
something in the mountain air, the vastness of 
the woods, that begets independence and a love 
of freedom. During the Civil War a couple of 
stalwart lumbermen came from Potter County, 
Pennsylvania, to Harrisburg, with the intention 
of enlisting. Walking out to Camp Curtin, they 
watched with interest a sergeant drilling a file of 
troops. As the full import of the scene dawned 
on their minds, one turned to the other, and said, 

56 



MEN OF MAINE 

" Come on, Jim ! I 'm goin' home. I '11 billy 
be d — d if I '11 walk in two rows for any man." 
It did not, however, take this class of men long 
to learn the necessity of discipline in an army, 
and once this lesson was learned, they made the 
best troops in the world, as was seen in the career 
of the famous Buck-tail regiment of Pennsyl- 
vania, and was proved on many a field by the 
lumbermen of Maine and Wisconsin. It is only 
fair to add that the most unpleasant experience 
these men had was when they met face to face the 
mountaineers of North Carolina. 

The Maine man is not only chary of his 
words, but is cautious in his statements. He 
rarely asserts a fact positively, but is inclined to 
guess that it may be so, and prefers, indeed, to 
put a statement in the form of a question, asking 
another if he does not think or guess that it may 
be so. This caution of speech was well illustrated 
on one occasion when my family were moving off 
from the Insley Hotel, on their way to the island. 
After watching us a moment a careful woman 
from Skowhegan turned to a companion and said 
pleasantly, " Nice people," and then in a moment, 
possibly fearing she had been too positive, added 
quickly, " As far as we can see." 

57 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

Down on the " Big Lake " there is a colony of 
camps presided over by a withered little man by 
the name of Hewey. One of the Judges of the 
Supreme Court of Massachusetts came there one 
season to spend a portion of his vacation, and 
Hewey showed him to his quarters, a detached 
log-cabin, which he was to occupy by himself 
alone. His Honor gazed around doubtfully and 
seemed somewhat disturbed by his surroundings. 
" I do not know that I quite like this. It seems 
very lonely. What would one do, for instance, 
if one were taken ill at night ? " 

" Oh, that 's all right," replied Hewey, cheer- 
fully. " All you Ve got to do is to come to yer 
door an' yell c Hewey ' like h — 1." 

It may as well be confessed that Hortense is 
not a large woman, and her son, as is natural and 
proper, takes after her. As for myself, I never 
was remarkable for the robustness of my figure, 
so that a large and bulgy wife would have been 
quite inappropriate for me. We went down 
through the lakes one summer and stopped to 
inspect these camps. While chatting pleasantly 
with Hewey, my son passed, and he asked, "'S 
that your boy ? " 

"Yes," I replied. 

58 



MEN OF MAINE 

" Well," said Hewey, sympathetically, " he 's 
awful pore, ain't he ? " 

I acquiesced with a smile, for the adjec- 
tive only indicated spareness and absence of 
flesh. 

" When I saw him last summer," continued 
Hewey, " I thought maybe, he wa' n't well. 
Thought p'r'aps the region did n't agree with 
him, but I guess it 's nat'ral. Hey ? That his 
mother ? " he asked in a whisper, as Hortense 
passed ; and to my affirmative answer he replied 
with a relieved smile, " Oh, well, then, you 
could n't expect much out o' such a pore 
couple." 

The following year we were down again with 
a party, my boy not being of the number. As 
the boat stopped at these camps, we saw Hewey 
on the wharf, and he greeted us cordially. " What 
do you think of my boy this year, Hewey ? " I 
asked. 

" Why, I don't see him," said Hewey, peering 
about. 

" Here he is," I said, as I laid my hand on the 
knee of a young friend of mine who was at that 
period holding up the dignity of the Yale foot- 
ball team, with six feet three of stature and some 

59 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

two hundred odd pounds of bone and muscle, at 
left guard, — " Here he is." 

Hewey gazed at him in astonishment for a 
moment, and then slapping his leg with delight, 
remarked, " So 't is. O Lordy ! but ye must 'a' 
fed him well ! " 



60 



w 



CHAPTER III 

THE VESTIBULE 

* For books are not absolutely dead things." 

E decided that the most convenient 
place for us to put our book-shelves 
was in the vestibule, so there the 
shelves went. And why should they not ? Can 
there be a more cheerful wall-covering than 
shelves full of books ? This passage-way was 
seven feet wide, and if we had put an ordinary 
bookcase on either side, we would have found 
the space much contracted, for an ordinary book- 
case is fifteen inches wide, though an ordinary 
book rarely exceeds six. Some of my books 
were large, so I made the lower shelves ten 
inches deep, and then, about four feet up, 
dropped back to six inches in depth. The 
shelves are immovable. How far apart they 
should be placed depends upon the character 
of one's library. In our case, I found the fol- 
lowing dimensions convenient. On one half, 

61 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

beginning at the bottom, the first shelf was 18 
inches above the base shelf, and the other spaces 
were n, 9}, 8|, 8J, 8, and 7J, and in the other 
half ii, ioj, 10, 9}, 8, 8, and 8. No shelf 
should be much longer than three feet between 
supports, for if it is, the shelf will sag in time. 
There should be no openings behind supports to 
hide the books from sight. I put no doors at 
all on these cases, as we have scarcely any dust 
on the island, and anyway I would rather bear 
with the dust than be pestered with the doors. 

When we came to select our books, we con- 
sulted all those lists of " A Hundred Best Novels 
in English," and the like, and our first purchases 
were selected from them. Adding to it in after 
years, we got much that was worthless, all of it 
highly commended by the reviewers, or insinuat- 
ingly included in our packages by the too oblig- 
ing bookseller. 

In attempting to give a list of books for a 
summer library I approach the task with becom- 
ing modesty and cannot hope to please all tastes. 
None of us would of course make exactly the 
same list, but in this task I have been materially 
aided by the friends who have been with us in 
past years. They have been urged to note on 

62 



THE VESTIBULE 

the fly leaves their views of the books they read, 
and thus our lists actually embrace the likings 
and dislikings of a large number of people, 
and are not the views of the writer alone, pos- 
sibly in some cases not his views at all. It 
seems to me that first of all we should select 
books that the average girl or boy, woman or 
man, will read, generally rejecting those books that 
every one has read, unless we believe them to be 
worth reading again. On such a basis this would 
be then our 



I. First Choice of Books for a Summer 
Library 

Allen, James Lane. — A Kentucky Cardinal; The 

Reign of Law. 
Balzac, H. de. — Le Pere Goriot ; Duchesse de 

Langeais ; Eugenie Grandet. 
Barr, A. E. — The Bow of Orange Ribbon ; Jan 

Vedder's Wife ; A Border Shepherdess ; Friend 

Olivia. 
Barrie, James. — The Little Minister; Sentimental 

Tommy ; Margaret Ogilvy. 
Besant, W., and Rice, J. — The Chaplain of the 

Fleet. 
Bjornson, B. — The Fisher Lassie. 
Black, Clementina. — The Princess Desiree. 
Blackmore, R. D. — Lorna Doone. 

63 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

Bloundelle-Burton, J. — The Hispaniola Plate; 
The Clash of Arms. 

Browne, C. F. — The Works of Artemus Ward. 

Bullen, F. T. — The Cruise of the Cachalot. 

Bulwer-Lytton, Sir E. — My Novel. 

Bunner, H. C. — Short Sixes; Love in Old Clothes. 

Butler, Sir W. F. — Charles George Gordon ; 
Sir Charles Napier (" Men of Action " Series). 

Cable, G. W. — Old Creole Days ; Strong Hearts. 

Castle, A. & E. — The Pride of Jennico. 

Chittenden, L. E. — Speeches and Letters of Abraham 
Lincoln. 

Clemens, S. L. — Recollections of Joan of Arc ; In- 
nocents Abroad ; Following the Equator. 

Clodd, Edward. — The Story of " Primitive Man " ; 
The Story of Creation. 

Cotes, E. — The Story of Sonny Sahib. 

Collins, Wilkie. — The Woman in White; The 
Moonstone. 

Cooper, J. F. — The Spy; The Last of the Mohi- 
cans ; The Pilot. 

Corbett, Julian. — Monk ; Sir Francis Drake (" Men 
of Action" Series). 

Crane, Stephen. — The Red Badge of Courage. 

Crawford, F. M. — Saracinesca ; A Cigarette Maker's 
Romance. 

Crockett, S. R. — The Raiders ; The Lilac Sun- 
bonnet ; Kit Kennedy. 

Curtis, George W. — Prue and I. 

Dana, R. H. — Two Years before the Mast. 

Deland, Margaret. — Old Chester Tales. 

Dickens, Charles. — Pickwick Papers; David Cop- 
perfield ; A Tale of Two Cities. 
64 



THE VESTIBULE 

Disraeli, B. — Coningsby. 

Doyle, A. C. — The Refugees; The White Com- 
pany ; Micah Clarke ; Memoirs and Adventures 

of Sherlock Holmes. 
Dumas, A. — The Three Guardsmen; Twenty Years 

After ; Count of Monte Cristo. 
Dunne, F. P. — Mr. Dooley in Peace and War. 
Eggleston, George C. — Southern Soldier Stories. 
Eliot, George. — Silas Marner ; Adam Bede ; Mid- 

dlemarch. 
Emerson, R. W. — Essays; Representative Men. 
Feuillet, O. — Romance of a Poor Young Man. 
Field, Eugene. — Poems of Childhood. 
Fielding, Henry. — Tom Jones. 
Fowler, Ellen T. — Concerning Isabel Carnaby ; 

The Farringdons. 
Freytag, G. — Debit and Credit. 
Gaboriau, E. — File No. 113. 
Gautier, T. — Captain Fracasse. 
Grahame, Kenneth. — The Golden Age. 
Grant, Robert. — Reflections of a Married Man; 

Opinions of a Philosopher. 
Gras, Felix. — The Reds of the Midi. 
Green, A. K. — The Leavenworth Case. 
Hale, E. E. — The Man Without a Country. 
Halevy, L. — The Abbe Constantine. 
Harris, J. C. — Uncle Remus. 
Hawthorne, N. — The Scarlet Letter. 
Hervey, M. H. — Amyas Egerton, Cavalier. 
Hewlett, M. — The Forest Lovers. 
Hocking, Joseph. — The Birthright. 
Hope, Anthony. — The Prisoner of Zenda. 

5 65 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

Holmes, O. W. — Elsie Venner. 

Hornung, E. W. — Irralie's Bushranger; A Bride from 
the Bush ; The Rogue's March. 

Howells, W. D. — Their Wedding Journey. 

Hugo, Victor. — Les Miserables. 

Jackson, H. H. — Ramona ; Saxe Holm Stories. 

Jewett, S. O. — A Country Doctor; A Native of 
Winby. 

Keightley, S. R. — The Crimson Sign ; Heronford. 

Kingsley, Charles. — Westward Ho!; Hypatia. 

Kingsley, Henry. — Geoffrey Hamlyn. 

Kipling, R. — The Jungle Books; Soldiers Three; 
Plain Tales from the Hills. 

Laing, S. — Modern Science and Modern Thought. 

Le Sage, A. R. — Gil Bias. 

Lever, Charles. — Charles O'Malley ; Harry 
Lorrequer. 

Life. — (Bound Volumes.) 

Lover, S. — Handy Andy. 

Lyall, Sir A. — Warren Hastings (" Men of Action " 
Series). 

McCloud, N. — The Starling. 

Marlitt, E. — The Old Mam'selle's Secret. 

Marryat, Captain. — Mr. Midshipman Easy; 
Peter Simple; Japhet in Search of a Father. 

Martin, E. S. — A Little Brother of the Rich ; Wind- 
falls of Observation. 

Mason, A. E. W. — The Courtship of Morrice Buck- 
ler; Lawrence Clavering. 

Meinhold, J. W. — The Amber Witch. 

Merriman, H. S. — With Edged Tools ; The 
Sowers. 

66 



THE VESTIBULE 

Mitchell, D. G. — Dream Life; Reveries of a 

Bachelor. 
Mitchell, J. A. — Life's Fairy Tales. 
Mitchell, S. Weir. — Hugh Wynne; The Adven- 
tures of Francois. 
Mulock, D. M. — John Halifax, Gentleman. 
" Noblesse Oblige." 
Ollivant, A. — Bob, Son of Battle. 
Page, T. N. — In Ole Virginia. 
Parker, Gilbert. — The Trail of the Sword ; When 

Valmond came to Pontiac ; The Seats of the 

Mighty ; The Pomp of the Lavilettes. 
Parr, Mrs. — Dorothy Fox. 
Pemberton, Max. — The Little Huguenot. 
Pyle, Howard. — The Rose of Paradise ; Men of 

Iron. 
Quiller-Couch, A. T. — The Splendid Spur; Dead 

Man's Rock. 
Reade, Charles. — Peg Woffington. 
Riley, J. W. — Rhymes of Childhood. 
Roche, J. J. — Her Majesty the King. 
Russell, W. C. — The Wreck of the Grosvenor. 
Sand, George. — Consuelo. 
Saintine, J. X. B. — Picciola. 
Samuels, S. — From Forecastle to the Cabin. 
Scott, Sir Walter. — Ivanhoe ; The Bride of 

Lammermoor; Antiquary; Rob Roy; Waverley; 

Quentin Durward ; Guy Mannering ; Talisman ; 

Kenilworth. 
Seawell, M. E. — A Virginia Cavalier; Lady Betty 

Stair ; The Loves of the Lady Arabella. 
Shakespeare, W. — Plays. 

6 7 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

Sienkiewicz, H. — With Fire and Sword ; The Del- 
uge ; Pan Michael ; Quo Vadis. 
Spencer, Herbert. — Aphorisms (selected by J. R. 

Gingell). 
Stedman, E. C. — A Victorian Anthology. 
Stevenson, R. L. — Treasure Island; Kidnapped; 

David Balfour ; The Master of Ballantrae ; The 

Wrong Box ; Saint Ives. 
Stockton, F. R. — Rudder Grange ; The Casting 

Away of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine. 
Stowe, H. B. — Uncle Tom's Cabin. 
Swift, J. — Gulliver's Travels. 
Tarkington, B. — The Gentleman from Indiana ; 

Monsieur Beaucaire. 
Thackeray, W. M. — Henry Esmond; Vanity Fair; 

The Newcomes ; Pendennis ; Barry Lyndon. 
Wallace, Lew. — Ben-Hur. 
Warren, Samuel. — Ten Thousand a Year. 
Waterloo, S. — The Story of Ab. 
Watson, Rev. J. — Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush. 
Wescott, E. N. — David Harum. 
Weyman, S. J. — A Gentleman of France ; The Man 

in Black. 
Williams, J. L. — The Stolen Story. 
Wilson, Sir C — Lord Clive ("Men of Action" 

Series). 
Yeats, S. Levett. — The Chevalier d'Auriac. 

But the above list of books does not by any 
means embrace all that we should have. In the 
country in summer we must have near at hand 
a few good books on nature, and I have gathered 

68 



THE VESTIBULE 

them together here in separate classes for con- 
venience of reference. 



II. Out of Door Books. 
i. General. 

Abbot,T. C. C. — A Naturalist's Rambles about Home. 
Allen, Grant. — Flashlights on Nature; Falling in 

Love. 
Burroughs, John. — Wake-Robin; Winter Sunshine ; 

Birds and Poets; Locusts and Wild Honey; Pepac- 

ton ; Fresh Fields ; Signs and Seasons ; Riverby ; 

Squirrels and other Fur Bearers. 1 
Gibson, W. H. — Highways and Byways. 
Thoreau, H. D. — The Maine Woods ; Walden. 
White, Gilbert. — The Natural History of Sel- 

borne. 

2. The Garden. 

Gray, Asa. — School and Field Book of Botany. 
Bailey, L. H. — Cyclopaedia of American Horticul- 
ture. 
Robinson, W. — The English Flower Garden. 
Dana, W. S. — How to Know the Wild Flowers. 
Thaxter, Celia. — An Island Garden. 
Warner, C. D. — My Summer in a Garden. 

i If any one refuses to buy nine volumes of a single author, then 
let him get " A Year in the Fields," which is a selection from the 
essays contained in the volumes named above. If, however, one 
really loves nature, and therefore John Burroughs, he will get the 
nine volumes, and " A Year in the Fields" also. 

6 9 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

3. Birds. 

Coues, Elliott. — Key to North American Birds. 
Chapman, Frank M. — Bird Life ; Hand Book of 

Birds of Eastern North America. 
Blanchan, N. — Bird Neighbors ; Birds that Hunt 

and are Hunted. 
Wright, Mabel Osgood. — Birdcraft. 
Baskett, J. N. — The Story of the Birds. 

All these are desirable. If a choice is to be 
made, I commend them in the order given 
above. 

4. Fish. 

Gunther, A. C. L. G. — Introduction to the Study of 

Fishes. 
Jordan and Gilbert. — Synopsis of the Fishes of 

North America. 
Marbury, Mary Orvis. — Favorite Flies. 
Norris, Thaddeus. — The American Angler's Book. 
Van Dyke, Henry. — Little Rivers; Fisherman's 

Luck. 
Walton and Cotton. — The Complete Angler. 
Wells, H. P. — Fly Rods and Fly Tackle. 
Yale et al. — The Out-of-Door Library — Angling. 

5. Shooting. 

Caton, J. D. — The Antelope and Deer of America. 
Mayer, A. M. (Editor). — Sport with Rod and Gun. 
Seton-Thompson. — Wild Animals I have Known; 

Biography of a Grizzly ; The Trail of the Sandhill 

Stag. 

70 



THE VESTIBULE 

Equally indispensable is the children's corner 
on the shelves. In the lists already given there 
are many books that will interest young people, 
and the sooner they are introduced to them the 
better. I remember when my own boy was 
passing through the inevitable " Henty " age I 
handed him the " Hoggarty Diamond." He 
read it, and as he handed it back to me, asked 
reproachfully, "Why didn't you give me that 
before ? " Practically the following list is in- 
tended for a childless family, but a family that 
loves children, and now and then welcomes the 
little ones to its circle. With these books you 
will have something to give quite as wholesome 
as doughnuts and lemonade. The family with 
children will have to add to this little library 
books varying in character according to the age 
of the youngsters, but in any case this list will 
prove, I hope, useful as a foundation for 

III. The Children's Library. 

^Esop's Fables. 

Alcott, L. M. — Little Women ; Little Men. 

Andersen, H. C. — Fairy Tales. 

Barnes, James. — For King or Country; Midshipman 

Farragut. 
Bede, Cuthbert. — Verdant Green. 

71 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

Bellew, F. P. W. — Chip's Dogs. 

Brooks, E. S. — Chivalric Days. 

Burnett, F. H. — Little Lord Fauntleroy. 

Busch, W. — Max and Maurice. 

Carroll, Lewis. — Alice's Adventures in Wonder- 
land. 

Clemens, S. L. — Tom Sawyer ; Huckleberry Finn. 

Coolidge, Susan. — What Katy Did. 

Cox, Palmer. — The Brownies : Their Book. 

DeFoe, Daniel. — Robinson Crusoe. 

Frost, A. B. — The Bull Calf. 

Grimm's Household Stories. 

Habberton, John. — Helen's Babies. 

Hughes, T. — Tom Brown's School Days; Tom 
Brown at Oxford. 

Kemble, E. W. — The Billy-Goat. 

Lang, Andrew. — The Blue, Red, Green, and Yellow 
Fairy-Books. 

Newell, P. S. — Topsy's and Turvy's. 

Pyle, Howard. — The Merry Adventures of Robin 
Hood ; Otto of the Silverhand. 

Raspe, R. E. — Baron Munchausen. 

Seawell, M. E. — Little Jarvis. 

Slovenly Peter. (No family can be properly brought 
up without " Slovenly Peter.") 

Wysz, Johann David. — The Swiss Family Rob- 
inson. 

A few good books of reference are necessary, 
of course, and all of the following will be found 
useful. If you have the Century Dictionary, 
you will not need Worcester, and while Allibone 

72 



THE VESTIBULE 

is desirable it is not essential in such a library as 
this. 

IV. Books of Reference. 

Johnson's Encyclopedia. 

Century Dictionary. 

Worcester's Dictionary. 

Atlas of the World. 

Thomas's Dictionary of Biography. 

Wheeler's Familiar Allusions. 

Allibone's Dictionary of Authors. 

To these four essential lists of books I append 
the following so-called " classics " which are uni- 
formly commended by almost all lovers of good 
literature. Select from it what you will, but I 
would put none of these books in a summer 
library, because I feel assured from experience 
that few of them would ever be read. Those 
that are of real interest have been read already by 
most, if not all, of your friends, while the others 
will continue to be left alone, notwithstanding the 
weight of authority in favor of them. 

V. Classics. 

Andersen, H. C. — The Improvisatore. 
Auerbach, B. — On the Heights. 
Austen, Jane. — Pride and Prejudice; Sense and Sensi- 
bility. 

73 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

Beckford, W. — Vathek. 

Bronte, Charlotte. — Jane Eyre. 

Brown, C. B. — Arthur Mervin. 

Browning, Robert. — Poems. 

Bunyan, John. — Pilgrim's Progress. 

Burns, Robert. — Poems. 

Cervantes, M. — Don Quixote. (To me the saddest 
book in all literature.) 

De Quincey, Thomas. — Confessions of an Opium 
Eater. 

De Stael, Mme. — Corinne. 

Fitzgerald, E. — Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. 

Fouque, La Motte. — Undine. 

Gaskell, E. C. — Cranford. 

Goethe, J. W. — Wilhelm Meister's Apprentice- 
ship. 

Goldsmith, O. — Vicar of Wakefield. (Mr. Clem- 
ens heartily commends one ship's library because 
it did not contain this book.) 

Greville, H. — Dosia; Sonia. 

Johnson, Samuel. — Rasselas. 

Judd, Sylvester. — Margaret. 

A Kempis, Thomas. — The Imitation of Christ. 

Kennedy, J. P. — Horseshoe Robinson. 

Lamartine, A. de. — Graziella. 

Lamb, Charles. — Essays of Elia; Tales from Shake- 
speare. 

Longfellow, H. W. — Hyperion. 

Manzoni, A. — The Betrothed Lovers. 

Melville, H. — Omoo ; Typee. 

Milton, John. — Paradise Lost. 

Poe, E. A. — Poems. 

Ruskin, John. — Selections. 

74 



THE VESTIBULE 

Sainte-Pierre, B. de. — Paul and Virginia. 

Scott, M. — The Cruise of the Midge ; Tom Cringle's 

Log. 
Sheppard, E. S. — Charles Auchester. 
Smollett, T. G. — Humphrey Clinker. 
Souvestre, E. — An Attic Philosopher in Paris. 
Tennyson, Alfred. — Poems. 
Tolstoy. — Anna Karenina. 
Turgenev, I. S. — Smoke. 
Ware, W. — Zenobia. 
Werner, E. — She fell in Love with her Husband. 

(Good Luck?) 
Winthrop, T. — John Brent. 

To the foregoing lists I add a further selection 
of books which I would buy having both space 
and money. 

VI. Second Choice of Books. 

Aldrich, T. B. — The Story of a Bad Boy. 

Bangs, J. K. — The House-Boat on the Styx; Paste 

Jewels. 
Bell, Lillian. — Love Affairs of an Old Maid. 
Burnett, F. H. — A Fair Barbarian ; In Connection 

with the De Willoughby Claim. 
Butler, W. A. — Mrs. Limber's Raffle. 
Caine, Hall. — Capt'n Davy's Honeymoon. 
Calverley, C. S. — Verses and Fly Leaves. 
Chambers, R. W. — The Red Republic. 
Cholmondeley, Mary. — Red Pottage. 
Churchill, Winston. — Richard Carvel. 

75 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

Corelli, M. — Thelma; Romance of Two Worlds. 

Davis, Rebecca B. Harding. — Silhouettes of Ameri- 
can Life. 

Davis, Richard H. — Van Bibber; Gallegher. 

Dickson, Harris. — The Black Wolfs Breed. 

Demolins, E. — Anglo-Saxon Superiority. 

Ewing, J. H. — Jackanapes ; A Flat-Iron for a Far- 
thing. 

Falconer. — M'lle Ixe. 

Frederic, H. — The Damnation of Theron Ware. 

Glasgow, Ellen. — The Voice of the People. 

Grant, Robert. — A Bachelor's Christmas. 

Haliburton, T. C. — Sam Slick. 

Hamblen, H. E. — On many Seas. 

Harte, B. — The Luck of Roaring Camp. 

Hornung, E. W. — Young Blood ; Dead Men Tell 
no Tales. 

Hyne, C. W. — The Adventures of Captain Kettle. 

Janvier, T. A. — The Uncle of an Angel. 

Keightley, S. R. — The Cavaliers; The Silver 
Cross ; The Last Recruit of Clare's. 

King, Ben. — Verse. 

King, Captain Charles. — The Colonel's Daughter. 

Lyall, E. — Donovan. 

Mabie, H. W. — Essays on Books and Culture. 

Magruder, Julia. — Princess Sonia. 

Major, C. — When Knighthood was in Flower. 

Matthews, Brander. — The Royal Marine. 

Meredith, Owen. — Lucile. 

Page, T. N. — Santa Claus's Partner. 

Phelps, E. S. — A Singular Life. 

Phillpotts, Eden. — Children of the Mist. 

Quiller-Couch, A. T. — Adventurers in Criticism. 

7 6 



THE VESTIBULE 

Reade, Charles. — Love me Little, Love me Long; 

Never too Late to Mend. 
Ridge, W. P. — A Clever Wife ; Secretary to Bayne, 

M. P. 
Sage, W. — Robert Tournay. 
Saintsbury, George. — Corrected Impressions. 
Schreiner, Olive. — The Story of an African Farm. 
Slosson, A. T. — Seven Dreamers. 
Stephens, R. N. — An Enemy to the King. 
Stockton, F. R. — The Lady or the Tiger ; The 

Christmas Wreck ; The Adventures of Captain 

Horn ; The Girl at Cobhurst. 
Stuart, R. McE. — The Golden Wedding ; Carlotta's 

Intended ; Solomon Crow's Christmas Pocket ; 

Sonny. 
Taylor, M. I. — On the Red Staircase. 
Thanet, Octave. — Stories of a Western Town ; A 

Missionary Sheriff. 
Verne, Jules. — Around the World in Eighty Days ; 

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea ; The 

Mysterious Island ; Michael StrogofF. 
Ward, H. — History of David Grieve. 
Weyman, S. J. — Under the Red Robe; Sophia. 
Wharton, Edith. — The Greater Inclination. 
Whiteley, I. N. — The Falcon of Langeac. 
Whiteing, R. — No. 5, John Street. 
Wiggin, K. D. — Timothy's Quest. 
Wilkins, M. E. — A Humble Romance. 

In reading the frank criticisms of some of our 
readers, as recorded on the fly leaves, I have 
been often surprised, and always amused, at the 

77 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

way they have frequently disagreed with the 
verdict of the critics, and are at times also quite 
at variance with the estimate of the general pub- 
lic, if enormous sales be an indication. Here, 
then, are a few books upon which some people 
have positive views, with no advertising space 
to sell. 

Allan, James Lane. — The Choir Invisible. One 
critic writes briefly, " Very able ; " while another says, 
" I can't agree with you. If this book has one merit, 
it has escaped my careful search. The scenery is as 
unreal as that on the stage of a theatre. The people 
are manikins, who play the fool without reason. The 
hero is a chump, and the heroine an impossible doll. 
Amy, the other woman, is coarse, vulgar, and slatternly, 
and yet the book has been compared to Esmond ! " 

Baring-Gould. — The Broom Squire. " The events 
described in this story may be possible in England and 
amongst English men and women, but would not be 
possible in America. A most unpleasant story of brutal 
people." 

Bloundelle-Burton. — Across the Salt Seas. " In- 
teresting in the main, but marred by its impossibility. 
What sane man would dream of going over-land to 
Flanders, after Vigo, when the ' Salt seas ' were open 
to him ? " 

Brady, C. T. — For the Freedom of the Sea. 
" Readable, but it makes one long to be profane in 
thinking of the English of 1812." 

Castle, E. — Young April. "In the main an in- 
' 78 



THE VESTIBULE 

teresting story. Here and there it drags a bit and is 
dull." 

Castle, E. — The Light of Scarthey. " An absurd 
story without one sane character in the book." 

Crockett, S. R. — Joan of the Swordhand. "Just 
a story, and by no means a good one." 

The Black Douglas. " Simply horrible ! With 

this book Mr. Crockett and I part company." 

Daudet, A. — Fromont, Jr., and Risler, Sr. " Char- 
acteristically French. Unpleasant, but readable. 
Clever, but neither great nor proper." 

Ebers, Georg. — Uarda. "Very dull at first, with 
more of interest in the latter half. A historical romance 
of the time of Moses, not quite successful either as 
history or romance." 

Ford, P. L. — The Great K. and A. Robbery. 
" Quite impossible, but fairly entertaining." 

The Honorable Peter Stirling. " Amateur- 
ish. The love making between Peter and Leonore is 
nauseating." 

Janice Meredith. " An utterly worthless book. 

A man might resign from the British army and em- 
igrate to distant lands because he did not approve of 
his mother's conduct, but with plenty of money at his 
command, he would not sell himself as a slave. Again, 
George Washington never had on his staff an officer 
who was fool enough or knave enough to announce in 
a dark stable, within the enemy's lines, to the daughter 
of a Tory, that his superior officer was sleeping in an 
exposed place and might easily be captured. The 
heroine, Janice, is an insufferable piece of baggage, 
that every man apparently, for some unknown reason, 
wants to marry, and she at times is evidently ready to 

79 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

marry any or all of them. By the most clumsy and 
inartistic methods the author carries his heroine across 
country so as to make her present at nearly every 
engagement of the Revolutionary War, Bunker Hill 
being almost the only prominent exception. We are 
duly grateful to Mr. Ford, however, for not putting 
Janice in the hold of one or another of the vessels in 
Paul Jones' famous sea-fight." 

Gras, F£lix. — The Reds of the Midi. "A first- 
rate story, well told." 

— — The Terror. " Interesting, but at times it 
drags. Would have been improved by the slaughter of 
little Clairet, early in the story." 

The White Terror. " I for one have had 

enough of these Frenchmen. All fools or knaves by 
the testimony of their own people ; and the book is 
dull." 

Gilbert, W. S. — Songs of a Savoyard, and The 
Bab Ballads. " Very depressing." 

Hope, Anthony. — The King's Mirror. "I did 
not suppose that Anthony Hope could write a dull book, 
but he can." 

Johnston, Mary. — Prisoners of Hope. "Should 
have been bound in paper and sold for five cents, for 
messenger boys to read. Absurd all the way through." 

To Have and to Hold. "Another worthless 

dime novel, sold for a dollar and a half. Appeared as a 
serial in the 4 Atlantic,' and selling by the hundreds of 
thousands. It 's amazing ! " 

Jokai, M. — A Hungarian Nabob. "Jokai is said 
to be great, and this the greatest of his novels. If this 
be so, I have had enough of Jokai." 

Keightley, S. R. — The Cavaliers. "A good 
80 



THE VESTIBULE 

story, but in the name of peace and quietness, how 
many bands were there who tried to save Charles I., 
and in how many different ways was it to be done ? " 

Margueritte, P. and V. — The Disaster. "Not 
only dull, but absolutely unreadable. Are all French- 
men mad ? Their writers never seem to tire of trying 
to prove it." 

Mason and Lang. — Parson Kelly. " Mr. Mason 
did much better work alone." 

Moncrieff, F. — The X Jewel. "A most incon- 
sequential attempt at a romance. You finish won- 
dering what in the world the author has been trying 
to do." 

Munro, Neil. — John Splendid. "A Scotch story 
with the descriptions as well as the conversations in 
dialect. Think of it ! 'No thruadh ! ' but fortune was 
a 'dour jade' when this ' sculduddry tale' was put in 
my 'silvered loof.' It is 'a long strath' and ' stoury 
marching,' more than a ' meridian daunder,' through its 
pages, and oh ! but ' it is heartsome,' here at the * cruisie 
light' of my 'tack house' ('a trig little edifice, not a 
bigging, but snugly thacked and windowed,' in a ' pleas- 
ance walled by whin '), to feel that I have emptied the 
author's 'girnel and toomed his last basin.' Let this 
be a ' prickle at the skin ' of those who would follow 
after ; let them know that ' here is drool, and the smell 
of mort cloth,' 'a smittal plague ;' though I am willing 
to acknowledge at the same time that ' I never heard 
that a put on gant was smittal,' for every one knows 
that if a gant was at all smittal it could not be put on. 

"I am neither ' pernicketty ' nor 'perjink' about my 
summer reading, but you may notch it on the ' yett ' 
that though the author be a ' gleg man ' and ' have repu- 
6 81 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

tation among the snoods,' yet ' in his eld' he will not 
only look back upon this story 'pawkily,' but still realize 
that he has been wandering ' on the wrong airt,' and 
that 't would have been money in his purse had he 
' dighted his blade ' and ' swithered for a moment,' with 
4 dour-set jaw,' and then burned or translated his manu- 
script. Some day he will sound his own ' coranach ' 
for this book, his tears will fall not in a ' smirr,' but in 
'runnels' on his 'sark,' his locks will be 'towsy,' and 
he '11 have • the slouch of the grangel,' as he sits in his 
1 byre ' and reflects. There are, to be sure, some 
charming touches in the story, as where we read of the 
'braes and corries in Argyle that whisper silken to the 
winds with juicy grasses,' 'among the bog-flower and 
the connoch,' where a l space-wife ' and ' ladies with 
broidery and camisole and washen faces,' witness the 
c tinker's death in the sheuch,' while the ' winds blew 
snell,' and there was heard ' the snorting low of the 
stirk.' The beauty of the scene is qualified by the fact 
that 'only in its season the cannoch tuft, and that itself 
but sparsely ; the sturdy gall itself finds no nourishment 
here,' which will be a surprise to most of us, as it has 
hitherto been supposed that ' sturdy gall ' found nourish- 
ment in all Scotland. 

" This story may be ' snod,' but the ' dule of it ' all 
is that it is ' tapsilteerie ' to a degree, and, at the best, 
has no ' swither ' about it. Of course, in ' Lochow of 
the bosky isles and holy,' where 'a scent of wet birk 
was in the wind,' and 'the river glucked and chattered 
and plopped most gaily,' one is not surprised to learn 
that 'the fluff of the wing was heard' as 'the londubh 
parted his beak of gold,' the ' howlets mourned ' and the 
crows called with ' roupy voices.' 

82 



THE VESTIBULE 

" At times our author philosophizes ; as witness the 
following : — 

" l For ordinary our women keen but when they are 
up in years and without the flowers of the cheek that 
the salt tear renders ugly ; women who have had good 
practice with grief, who are so far off" from the fore- 
world of childhood where heaven is about the dubs of 
the door and they find something of a dismal pleasure 
in making wails for a penny or two or a cogie of sol- 
dier's brose.' It seems to me that ' a cogie of soldier's 
brose ' is enough to make anybody wail. 

" But think of this : 

" c To walk by a lake and hear grief's chant upon 
neighboring isles is the chief of the Hundred Dolours.' 

This sentence may be a bit obscure, but then obscur- 
ity is the spice of Scotch literature. 

" There is some feeding and more of starving in the 
tale. Once ' the straw was burned to dry the grain, 
the breeze win'd it, the quern ground it, the fire cooked 
the bannocks of it,' yet, after all, the hero in winter 
weather with bare legs and but scanty covering else- 
where, was compelled to eat his ' chack ' in default of 
' bolls of meal.' On one occasion John Splendid find- 
ing a ' yeld hind ' ' despatched and gralloched it with his 
sigan bubh in a twinkling,' which is interesting, but not 
surprising, as even a brachiopod might be expected to 
yell at least once before being gralloched with a sigan 
bubh. 

" The author tells us also of l the profound gorges 
of Stob Dubh belching full to the throat with animus,' 
which will be news to most of us, for while we know 
Scotland to be fairly full of animus, we did not dream it 

83 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

was as full as that. Yet if the gorges of Stob Dubh are 
as profound as the author hints, why don't they control 
their animus instead of belching it ? 

" This book may or may not be c umquahile,' but if 
any one would ' homologate ' this estimate of its beauties 
let him ' belt in his breelcs,' ' pull up his hosen,' seat 
himself in his ' chair-haffit,' and read the book for him- 
self." 

Pemberton, Max. — Queen of the Jesters. " An 
odd book which it is possible to read." 

The Phantom Army. " Not much of a story." 

Kronstadt. " I think I am about through 

with Mr. Pemberton's stories." 

The Impregnable City. " Utter folly. Not 

a trace of either wit or wisdom." 

Rhoscomyl, O. — For the White Rose of Arno. 
" Very poor." 

Stimson, F. J. S. — King Noonett. " Only a fair 
sort of story." 

Pirate Gold. " Not worth reading." 

Taylor, M. I. — A Yankee Volunteer. "Rather 

thin in spots." 

Warner, Susan. — The Wide Wide World. "An 
extraordinary book, based upon an analytical synopsis of 
lamentations. Miss Warner is evidently impressed with 
the fact that this l Wide, Wide World ' is ' but a vale 
of tears.' The heroine, Ellen Montgomery, was but a 
child ; but she shows a precocious genius in giving vent 
to her woe. Mark the variety of her lachrymations 
which for convenience of comparison are arranged 
alphabetically. 

84 



THE VESTIBULE 

" Ellen 4 almost shrieked,' 4 answered with another 
gush of tears,' and her 4 agitation was excessive.' 

" She 4 began weeping again,' and ' broke forth in an 
agony of tears.' She 'burst' on twelve different occa- 
sions, nine times 4 into tears,' and once each into 4 an 
agony of tears,' 4 another fit of sorrow ' and 4 un- 
controllable weeping.' Once she * almost burst into 
tears,' and on another occasion l a burst of tears re- 
lieved her.' 

44 She 4 could not help shedding some tears ' and she 
4 covered her face with her hands and sobbed out.' 4 She 
cried ' without qualification, and also ' a great while,' 
4 as if her very heart would break,' 4 as if she had never 
cried before,' 4 bitterly,' 4 heartily,' * heartily again,' 4 very 
heartily,' 4 for joy ' and 4 over her letter.' Also she ' had 
been crying,' 4 had had a good cry,' and ' Pilgrim's 
Progress made her sometimes cry.' 

44 She ' drew long, sobbing sighs,' and something or 
other 'drew streams of tears down her cheeks.' 

" Her eyes 4 filled ' (twice), 4 filled fast again,' ' filled 
with tears,' 4 shone through tears,' ' watered ' (thrice), 
4 were gathering tears very fast,' 4 were glistening,' 4 moist- 
ening,' 4 red,' 4 swimming,' and 4 watering,' while her 
4 eyelashes were wet ' but twice. 

44 She 4 fell upon her knees in a perfect agony of 
weeping ' and 4 flung herself on the ground to let sorrow 
have full sway.' 

44 She gave way to a 4 burst of tears,' 4 a good bit of 
crying,' 4 an overwhelming burst of sorrow,' and 4 a 
violent burst of grief.' 

44 She 4 hid her face in the towel to cry instead of 

85 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

making the ordinary use of it,' and through it all 'joy 
kept company with bitter weeping.' 

" She c mingled bitter tears with eager prayers,' was 
4 moved even to tears,' while something or other ' opened 
the sluices of her eyes.' 

" She ' poured forth her whole heart in prayers and 
tears ' and ' quivered from head to foot with convulsive 
sobs.' 

" She l spent a good part of the afternoon in crying,' 
4 silence was only broken by her sobs,' and she c shed 
bitter tears now and then.' She ' sobbed,' c sobbed more 
gently ' and 4 sobbed aloud and even screamed,' ' her 
sobs went nigh to choke her,' and ' solitude saw many 
a tear of hers that week.' 

" She l threw herself on the floor in a passion of 
grief,' while something c threw her back into fresh fits 
of tears.' 

" Her c tears almost choked her,' c began to drop 
again,' c brought no relief,' c came faster than her 
words,' l dropped into the water,' c fell faster,' * fell from 
the eyes,' c fell much too fast for eyes to do their work,' 
4 flowed,' * flowed faster than ever,' c followed in a 
flood,' l gushed forth,' ' had to be wiped away,' 4 kept 
coming all the time,' c knew no measure,' ' mingled,' 
1 poured,' £ ran down her cheeks,' ' ran down her face and 
frock,' l ran fast again,' c ran fast down her face and 
fell into her lap,' l rose to her eyes,' ' rushed to her 
eyes,' l sprang to her thoughts,' ' started,' l streamed from 
her eyes,' and c used to flow abundantly when they 
could, unseen.' Besides this, her tears were ( blinding 
her ' (twice), l choking her,' l fast coming,' were ' in 

86 



THE VESTIBULE 

her eyes ' (twice), * many a time there,' c poured out 
fast,' ' running down her cheeks,' i wet upon her cheeks,' 
were ' wrung from her,' and, worst of all, < would drop 
down on her Bible.' 

" l Unspeakable tears were shed,' * violent tears burst 
forth,' and indeed l it seemed as if she would pour out 
her very heart in tears.' 

" She c watered the rock with tears,' 4 wiped away a 
few tears,' and also ' glad tears,' l went to sleep with 
wet eyelashes,' ' words were spoken with a sob ' and 
4 washed down with bitter tears,' and all this time she 
'wondered, waited, and wept.' She wept, 'bitterly,' 
(twice), c violently ' (twice), c with all the vehement 
passion of her childhood,' and finally l wept herself 
out.' She c was weeping,' ' as she answered,' c as she 
spoke,' ' afresh,' c very much,' ' with mixed sorrow and 
thankful joy.' She wept over a ' letter again and again,' 
and over another twice a day for six days. Besides 
this she wept l on her pillow,' on a rock, on Alice's 
neck, on her lap, on her frock, on the Bible, and on 
4 poor pussy,' and converted Van Brunt with one applica- 
tion on the back of his hand. On one occasion she 
4 yielded helplessly to grief,' and on another ' the tempest 
of tears seemed to gather force as it flowed.' 

" Although c now and then the old fit of weeping 
would come,' c many were the bitter tears she had 
known,' and ' many were the silent tears that rolled 
down and wet her pillow,' l while even her thoughts 
resolved themselves into tears,' still she was insatiable, 
and c wished to be where tears could burst and her 
heart could break unseen.' 

87 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

" She was a pale, delicate child, and while c she 
would weep till she wept her eyes out,' ' her whole 
frame quivering with hysterical sobs,' ' her heart flowing 
away in tears,' 'the pent-up tempest bursting forth 
with a fury that racked her little frame from t head to 
foot,' we are told that unfortunately ' convulsive weep- 
ing only exhausted her.' After all this, it is difficult to 
see why any one should be l surprised to see several 
large drops of tears ' on her person. 

" It would be unjust to assume that Ellen was always 
in this maudlin condition ; and, in fact, Miss Warner 
takes special pains to point out more than one occasion 
when she did not cry, although no obstacle apparently 
offered. Thus we are told that c she almost burst into 
tears,' ' was almost crying,' ' was in constant danger of 
bursting into tears,' and 4 was in question whether to 
give way to tears.' On other occasions there was no 
room for doubt, for we are told explicitly that ' there 
were no tears,' ' tears did not come,' c tears could not 
come then,' ' she did not shed tears now,' and once l she 
was too weak for violent weeping,' so of course it was 
useless to begin. 

" After reading this extraordinary book, one is forced 
to the conclusion that the author could only have 
secured so great a variety of expression by first preparing 
such a list as the above, and then checking off" each 
phrase as used." 



88 



CHAPTER IV 

SOME BIRDS 
" Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?'''' 

I DO not propose to write an essay upon the 
ornithology of the island, but simply to 
tell something of the familiar feathered 
friends who spend the summer with us ; and of 
them all, none is more welcome than the Robin. 
For the first year or two of our life here we 
never saw a robin, and with good reason, for 
there were no grassy lawns, and not a worm to 
furnish food. I feel quite sure about this, for as we 
dug the land over, we never saw a trace of one ; 
so finally we sent over to the mainland and got 
five or six quarts of squirming redmen, which 
we planted in various places on the island. I 
confess this was not done with a view to attract- 
ing the robin, but solely for the benefit of those 
"Anglers with the Fly" who were beginning to 
visit us in ever-increasing numbers. These gen- 
tlemen all spend hours arranging and re-arranging 

89 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

their fly-books, but sooner or later, before start- 
ing to fish, are sure to remark carelessly, " Oh, 
by the way, Deck may just as well dig us a few 
worms, don't you know." It is curious, but in 
this paradise for fly-casting, worms are a regular 
article of commerce ; quotations on the exchange 
vary with the weather, and range from fifty cents 
a quart in June to more than a dollar in the dry 
weather of August and September. It was to 
supply this demand conveniently, that we planted 
these worms on the island, but it had the un- 
looked for result of populating our home with 
robins. To-day, I believe, we would willingly part 
with every fish in the lake rather than with our 
robins. They come in increasing numbers every 
year, and if a large percentage of them did not fall 
victims to the gunners in the Southern States, the 
increase would doubtless be even more rapid. I 
feel quite sure that the same birds return to us 
every summer, and that the robin (like so many 
other birds, and fishes too) wishes to build her 
nest near the place of her birth. As no birds 
of any kind are ever shot at on the island, ex- 
cepting only the birds of prey, like hawks, owls, 
and king-fishers, these robins become ever more 
familiar and confiding. It is curious how quickly 

90 



SOME BIRDS 

wild creatures learn that you will not harm them, 
and how willing they are to be friendly. In the 
past season one pair built a nest on the porch 
roof, just under the overhanging eaves of the 
house, and so close to a window that one could 
reach out and touch the nest. They take posses- 
sion of the woodshed even, and more than one 
nest has been built therein. 

One year a pair raised two broods in a nest 
built on a window-sill, and one could stand inside 
the room and watch the mother at her work. A 
few little firs were planted last spring close beside 
the studio, and though they were scarce two feet 
in height, a robin built her nest in the branches 
of one and reared her brood successfully. The 
robin lays four eggs, but I have never yet seen 
the mother with more than three young, and two 
is the usual number, though a single youngster 
is frequently seen. A pair will rear two broods 
in the same nest in one season, but I have never 
known a nest to be occupied a second year. This 
is not so strange, for the robin naturally wants 
a clean nest to start with, and evidently prefers 
to build a new home rather than clean up the 
old one. Many people manage housekeeping 
in much the same way. They are always moving 

9i 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

into newly built houses, and when one gets dirty, 
instead of cleaning it they move to a new one. 

The robin is an enormous feeder, and, it is 
said, will devour half again as much as his weight 
in twenty-four hours. What a task the mother 
has, not only to satisfy her own appetite, but also 
to fill those hungry little stomachs in the nest! 
I am glad to say, however, that the father helps 
in this work, and in wet weather one will cover 
the little ones, while the other forages for food, 
and then they will change places. After the 
young have left the nest, they must still be fed 
for a time ; but I have never seen the male help 
in this task. The young birds follow the mother 
about, and are eternally crying for more, more, 
more. She feeds them generously for a day or 
two, and then cuts down their rations, trying all the 
while to teach them to help themselves. She will 
point out a worm to one, apparently urging him to 
pick it up, and if he fails to do so in a brief time, 
the mother pulls it out and eats it herself. The 
youngster scolds and cries the more, and then 
sometimes the mother will turn and present to 
him a bit of stick or straw, which he seizes 
eagerly, and drops promptly, as the mother flies 
away, evidently laughing. 

92 



SOME BIRDS 

I delight in watching these birds on the lawn. 
One will hop or run about for a time, then stop, 
peer this way and that, and suddenly bracing him- 
self, look intently at a certain spot for a second. 
Down darts his bill, catching the head of the 
worm as it protrudes from its burrow, and then 
comes the tug of war. If he has got hold of a 
big fellow, his back straightens more and more as 
he pulls, until suddenly the worm loosens his 
hold and Master Robin has to recover himself 
quickly to avoid tumbling over on his back. If 
the birds are still in the nest, and small, the robin 
is apt to drop the worm on the hard path near by, 
and cut it in pieces of what he deems a proper 
size, before flying away to his nest. The robins 
start South, I think, almost as soon as they are 
full grown, and in August we see only the ones 
who have remained to rear a second brood, while 
by September these, too, are nearly all gone. 
Even late in the month, however, one is apt to 
see a solitary belated one, and now and then 
flocks of a dozen or more will stop at the island 
for a day's rest, as they pass from breeding- 
grounds farther north. You are pretty sure to 
see them then on the gravelly beach taking a 
bath, as a refreshment after their flight. They 

93 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

do not then apparently scatter over the lawns to 
feed, but are satisfied with a hasty lunch on the 
ripe red berries of the mountain ash. A few of 
these birds spend the winter in the severe climate 
of northern Maine, seeking shelter in the thickets 
of fir and spruce. Too much cannot be said of 
the beauty and variety in the song of the robin 
during the nesting-season, and it is a constant 
source of delight to me. Quite the reverse is his 
sharp, scolding note of alarm. His confidence in 
you evidently has its limit, and if you approach 
too near his nest, he kicks up a fuss that will dis- 
turb every feathered inhabitant of the island, 
bringing the timid ones to the verge of nervous 
prostration. Under such circumstances the robin 
gets mad all over, taking no pains to conceal his 
feelings, and, indeed, if he does not actually 
swear, no bird ever did or could. 

The White-throated Sparrow, or Peabody Bird, 
is not so conspicuous in his ways as is the robin, 
and unless you look for him, you will rarely see 
him by accident, though he does not appear to be 
at all timid. It is his beautiful song, however, 
that impresses itself upon you, as it rings out on 
a July day, and be the gossip on the porch ever 
so interesting, some bird-lover is sure to hold up 

94 



SOME BIRDS 

a warning finger, and smilingly ask, " Did you 
hear that ? " " I, I, Peabody, Peabody, Pea- 
body," he is supposed to be saying, or in Maine 
it is, " All day, Whittling, Whittling, Whittling;" 
but translate it as you will, it gives one a very 
great pleasure to hear it. 

A friendly little fellow, with his bright orange 
and black markings, is the Redstart (German, 
Roth Stert) or Red-Tail, though its tail is not red 
at all), and from early May till July he is in 
evidence. He alights on the rough bark of an 
old birch near the corner of the porch, peers 
about this way and that, chirps cordially, and 
then flirts over to the porch rail, hops along it, 
turns a somersault in the air, and lights upon 
a near-by bush. He peers under the leaves for 
insects, and then darts away, only to be back 
again in a moment. I called Al Wilbur's atten- 
tion to him one day, as I sat reading on the 
porch. "Yes," said Al, "those birds were over 
here on the island when we first came. We 
found one of 'em dead, an' another was livin', 
but he was terrible slimsy." Poor little fly- 
catcher, you might well be " slimsy " with ice 
and snow still covering the waters of the lake, 
and never an insect ready for business. 

95 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

Our big chimney was barely built before the 
Chimney-Swifts came to occupy it. Although in 
May and June we have fire almost constantly in 
the three hearths below, these birds seem to have 
no trouble in nest-building or rearing their 
young in the midst of the smoke. We hear the 
muffled flutter of their wings at night, and the 
cheerful chirpings as they feed their young by 
day. Now and then one falls on the hearth, and 
seems too confused by the novelty of its situation 
to fly up again, but makes its way into the hall, 
if the fire screen is far enough out for him to 
escape. Then it beats its wings against the 
window-panes until taken in some gentle hand 
to the free air and sunlight. I remember an 
enormous colony that used to occupy one chim- 
ney at Firmins some years ago. Towards dusk 
they would begin to gather, not by scores or even 
hundreds, but literally by thousands, circling 
around the chimney, till at last, all having appar- 
ently joined the flock, the circles grew closer 
and the mass resolved itself into a gigantic funnel 
through which the birds were seemingly poured 
into the chimney top. Of course it was im- 
possible to estimate accurately the number of 
these birds; but the funnel, when formed, 

96 



SOME BIRDS 

seemed to be fully thirty feet high, and as much 
in diameter across the top, the birds circling 
about in a dark, compact mass. 

Just as you must have a chimney if you would 
have the swift, and angle-worms if you want 
robins, so, too, the flower-garden must come 
before the Humming Bird will visit you. We 
had had our flowers for a year or two before I 
noticed the first humming-bird, and it was for 
some time a rare event to see them ; but the 
increase of late has been very marked, and last 
season the terrace was simply alive with these 
beautiful little fairy-like birds. You could 
not walk along the head of the upper terrace 
on a bright day in July or August without 
seeing a dozen or more of them at a time. 
In August it was curious to see them perching 
on the trees on the edge of the terrace, pruning 
their feathers, and then darting off like a flash 
of light. Doubtless these were young birds, 
who had not yet attained their full powers of 
flight. Some young nephews of mine caught 
a pair of these birds, and kept them in their 
rooms for several days, the birds seemingly 
quite contented with their surroundings, feed- 
ing freely out of a vial of sugar and water, 
7 97 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

and perching confidingly on the shoulders of 
their care-takers. 

One of the most entertaining of little birds is 
the Chickadee. He is so familiar and jolly that 
you cannot feel offended at him no matter what 
he does. I had tied a bit of worsted about the 
stalk of the first sunflower to bloom one year, 
and on passing the bed I found quite half of the 
still unripe seed had disappeared. Looking at 
the blossom in surprise, and scarcely two feet 
from it, I was startled suddenly by a bird who 
flew by my shoulder and perched on the top of 
the flower. He looked at me and I at him. I 
scolded, and he scolded back, and right before 
my eyes, within reach of my hand, he plucked 
out another seed and swallowed it forthwith. 
" Why, you miserable little — " " Chickadee- 
dee-dee" he said, and finished the sentence for me. 
It was my introduction to the little fellow, and I 
could not take offence at his thievery. He may 
have all the sunflower seeds he wants, and he 
comes every year to get them. 

I was walking around the island one day with 
John Burroughs, and as the path followed the 
head of a steep bluff, we were suddenly startled 
by the sound of a watchman's rattle as a King- 

98 




The Garden Beds 



SOME BIRDS 

fisher sailed off over the waters, from apparently 
beneath our feet. Had I been alone, I would 
doubtless have passed on with but a casual glance 
at the disappearing bird, but not so Mr. Bur- 
roughs. " There 's a kingfisher's nest here," 
said he, with unerring instinct ; and leaning over 
the bank a moment, exclaimed, " Here it is ; now 
let 's see where it goes." 

It was a hole in the bank he had found, and 
cutting a birch wand and trimming off its leaves, 
he gave it to one of the lads who were with us, 
and he probed the opening with the lance. The 
direction being known, and the distance carefully 
measured (and it was quite three feet in depth), 
we marked the probable location of the nest. 
Pick and shovel were quickly brought, and after 
digging down in the path about a foot, we un- 
earthed the nest, and one young naturalist's col- 
lection was the richer by two highly prized 
kingfisher's eggs. The boys had permission to 
practise shooting on the kingfishers for the sake 
of the young trout and salmon, and the mark is 
a harder one to hit than any clay pigeon. You 
think you have him absolutely motionless, as he 
is poised for a dart at a fish, but invariably the 
moment you fire he has dropped like a shot on 

99 
LofC. 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

the fish below. A number of these birds are 
shot every year, but they seem to be on the 
whole quite as plentiful as they were several 
years ago. 

I love to watch the kindly little Chipping 
Sparrows, and the mother's care of her brood is a 
lesson for the rest of bird-life, and for human 
beings also, for that matter. They huddle so 
closely about the mother, teasing for food so 
loudly that she always gives it to them, even 
when they are quite full grown. The English 
Sparrow, that noisy, quarrelsome fellow, has as yet 
never landed on the island, and may a kind 
Providence still continue to keep him away ! 

Both the Red-headed and the Hairy Wood- 
pecker are residents of the island, the latter being 
by far the more common of the two. Every 
year we have at least one noisy nest of Crows, 
and the Cuckoo is to be seen and heard at times, 
though not frequently. I saw the Scarlet Tan- 
ager but once, while the Red-eyed Vireo, the 
Red-breasted Nuthatch, the Kingbird, and the 
Olive-backed Thrush are common, as well as a 
number of other summer visitors with whom I 
am not so familiar. 

When we began the building of the house, I 
ioo 



SOME BIRDS 

found the nest of a Black Duck within thirty- 
feet of where the men were at work. It was 
built at the foot of a large birch-tree, sheltered 
by brakes and dwarf hemlock. The nest was but 
a rude affair, but it contained nine eggs. Some 
of the men tried to capture this wary duck, but 
she was too quick and cautious for them, and on 
every occasion she escaped, returning to her nest 
when she could do so unobserved. She was 
there for more than a week after we had begun 
work, and though driven off many times, she 
managed to hatch her brood successfully. I saw 
the nest one morning when there were seven 
newly hatched ducks in it, with two eggs still 
unbroken, and as I approached all the little ones 
darted out of the nest and hid themselves beneath 
the leaves. I found it almost impossible to dis- 
cover the hiding-place of any of them, yet when 
I drew away from the nest they one after another 
returned to it. When I saw it the next day, it 
was tenantless, the last two eggs having been 
hatched. This nest was fully three hundred feet 
from the nearest water, and fifty-five feet above 
the level of the lake. Since this time I have 
never seen a black duck on the island, though 
many nest in this region. 

IOI 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

The Shelldrake is very common, and breeds 
freely on the lake shores and up the various 
streams. The Broad-bill and the Blue-winged 
Teal also breed in our neighborhood, but are by 
no means so common as the Black Duck or 
Shelldrake. 

To me the Loon is one of the most interesting 
birds we have about us. The beauty of his 
plumage and his skill as a swimmer and diver are 
unrivalled by any other water-bird in the north. 
His cry is like the wail of a lost soul, rising out 
of the darkness of the night. I have heard his 
call distinctly for a distance of quite three miles, 
though the bird itself was not visible without 
the aid of a glass. These birds are hard to kill 
on the water, as they dive at the flash of the gun, 
remain under for a long time, and generally 
appear again far out of range. It is useless to 
try to get very near to them ; so a rifle must 
always be used, and I suppose that more than a 
hundred shots are fired at loons in the State 
of Maine, for every one that is killed. Three 
loons having been seen on one occasion, the 
little launch we were on bore down upon them, 
and firing began as soon as we were within range. 
Finally the birds came to the surface within pos- 

102 



SOME BIRDS 

sibly seventy-five yards of the boat. The two 
younger birds dived promptly, but the mother 
remained longer on the surface, undoubtedly for 
the purpose of attracting the shot to herself and 
away from the young ones, and as a result she 
was in another moment stretched dead upon the 
water, a deliberate sacrifice for her young. Al- 
though the loon eats many fish in a season, I still 
do not permit it to be shot at from the island. 
It is decreasing gradually but certainly in the 
region, and it will probably not be long before 
this bird disappears before the advancing ranks of 
the summer visitor with a gun. The female 
lays but two eggs, but sometimes raises more 
than a single brood in a season. The nest is very 
rude, scarcely more than a hollow in the moss, 
and is close enough to the water for the bird 
to slide into it with little effort, for she is but a 
clumsy and helpless traveller on land. When 
the young birds are a few days old, the mother 
pushes them into the water and forces them 
to swim. They will crawl upon her back, and 
with them as passengers she will sail out into the 
lake ; then, when she wishes to give them a swim- 
ming lesson, she has but to dive, and they are 
compelled to make their own way on the water. 

103 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

My friend the Professor took a lively interest 
in loons, and refused to be comforted unless he 
had one of the eggs in just the right state and 
could examine the embryo. After a protracted 
search we at last found a nest with two eggs in it, 
one of which we carried in triumph to the island. 
Instead of examining the contents that afternoon, 
the Professor, worn out by his exertions, insisted 
upon taking a nap, and postponed his work till 
the following day. At breakfast-time the next 
morning, I found him on the porch, walking up 
and down, singing Luther's Hymn in his rich 
bass voice. 

" Good-morning," was my greeting. " How 's 
your loon ?" 

" Did n't think to look at it," said the Pro- 
fessor, mildly surprised at the question. 

" Well, if I were you, I would. Where did 
you put it? " 

" Why, in my trunk, amongst my underwear, 
so it wouldn't get cold." 

I smiled with all the delight of a boy who 
hears the first roll of the drum and sees the 
distant glare of the torches as the procession 
advances. " You go look at it ! " I urged. 

My torchlight procession arrived on time, and 
104 



SOME BIRDS 

it was not Luther's Hymn I heard him singing 
the next moment. The loon had hatched in 
the cozy underwear, and whatever of the contents 
of the egg he had not needed, he just left where 
it was, or trailed it about in his explorations. 
Some years afterwards the Professor called on me 
at a Boston hotel, and finding no cards about 
him, obtained a blank one from the clerk. This 
was the inscription upon the card : — 




The Ruffed Grouse, called the Partridge (or, 
to be accurate, Patridge) in Maine, and known 
as a Pheasant farther south, was a regular resi- 
dent of the island some years before we owned 
it ; but sportsmen landing there in the fall were 
able to kill every bird, for they could not fly 
to the shore, and therefore their extermination 
was comparatively easy and certain. For some 
years after our arrival none of these birds visited 
us ; but one spring, on the breaking up of the 

105 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

ice, three or four of them were fortunately left 
upon the island. It was lucky for them as well 
as for us, for they have found at last a resting- 
place free from their most deadly enemies, man and 
the fox. I fed these visitors with cracked corn 
all through the summer, and kept a box filled 
with food in the wagon-shed during the winter. 
They raised two broods during the summer, 
and we had twenty or thirty birds that fall, 
and though many left in the winter, when the 
lake was frozen over, we have always ever since 
had enough left to keep up the supply. Find- 
ing that they wished to stay with us, we built 
them a home of their own, with openings at 
different heights on the sheltered side of the 
house, so that they might be at liberty to come 
in or go out even when the ground was deep 
in snow. While this house was being built, a 
cock grouse sat on a log in full view, not more 
than twenty feet back in the grove, and seemed 
to be observing the work with interest. There 
was one bird that became very tame. He would 
sit at the edge of the woods, and if he saw one 
of the men going toward the stables, he would 
gravely follow him, waiting on the outside, and 
evidently expecting that corn would be tossed to 

1 06 



SOME BIRDS 

him, as it invariably was. Once he went up a 
stairway into the second story of the boat-house, 
and was found in the hall-way above by one of 
the men, who caught him and carrying him down- 
stairs let him go. When set upon the ground, 
he did not attempt to fly, nor did he seem in 
the least alarmed, but shaking out his tumbled 
feathers, walked quietly off into the bushes. One 
September a full-grown young bird flew out 
of the woods, across fifty feet of lawn, rushing 
blindly against the side of the house, to fall 
dead on the ground with a broken neck. One 
day Al Wilbur noticed a mother grouse cross- 
ing the lawn with her brood, then almost full 
grown. The mother, evidently a little dis- 
turbed, darted into a near-by thicket, and called 
to her brood to follow. They all obeyed except 
one stubborn little chap, who remained behind 
to attend to some delicacy he had found. The 
mother clucked her commands again, but still 
he paid no attention, whereupon she darted 
out after the disobedient one, and giving him 
a whack with her wing and an angry peck with 
her bill, sent him scurrying in short order to 
the thicket, to which refuge she herself walked 
back sedately. The grouse is a careful mother, 

107 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

and generally rears successfully the greater part 
of her brood. I have counted twelve young 
birds in June, and the same flock contained 
ten healthy full-grown birds in September. Of 
course there are no foxes on the island, and the 
only enemies we have to watch for are the owls 
and the hawks. The latter are not numerous, 
and the former, from their large size, are sure 
to be discovered by some one, and promptly 
shot. We have probably seven species of owls 
in this region, but as far as my observation goes, 
only four have visited the island. These are the 
Great-horned Owl, the American Long-eared 
Owl, the Short-eared Owl, and the Little Saw- 
Whet, or Acadian Owl. Of course it is quite 
possible that all of these birds may have come 
to us in search of field mice, to which they were 
heartily welcome ; but as they were all, with the 
exception of the little Saw-Whet, uniformly sus- 
pected of designs on the grouse, they were 
promptly shot on sight. 

Our success with the grouse was so gratifying 
that we determined to try the Ring-necked, or 
English, Pheasant. A New Jersey friend was 
kind enough to present me with some of these 
birds, and they were taken to the island and 

10S 



SOME BIRDS 

allowed to rove at will, as free as their com- 
panions, the grouse. They made themselves 
at home at once, nested and brought forth two 
broods of fully a dozen birds each, the first sea- 
son. Of these nearly all died in early youth, for 
the pheasant has a bad reputation as a mother. 
Possibly this evil repute is gained in confine- 
ment, where these birds are very rarely allowed 
to bring up their own broods, common barn- 
yard hens being substituted. One might ex- 
pect that in a number of generations the species 
would, through disuse, easily lose the art of 
caring for their young; but, be that as it may, 
it is certainly true that when these birds first 
came to the island, they did not rear more than 
ten per cent of the brood, while now, after a lapse 
of five years, they as certainly rear successfully 
sixty or seventy per cent. I liberated my birds 
at first on the lawn, from the box in which they 
had travelled, and one of them went out of 
the opening as if shot from a gun. He sailed 
over the trees and out over the water at a pro- 
digious rate, and we could see him gradually 
lower, until he fell into the water with a splash, 
half a mile distant. A boat was quickly sent 
out, and the bird was picked up more dead 

109 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

than alive. The water was very cold, and the 
poor thing was completely exhausted, being un- 
able to stand when placed on the ground. We 
carried him up to the house, and turned him over 
to the tender mercies of Hortense, who took him 
at once into the laundry and opening his bill gave 
him a few drops of whiskey diluted with water, 
and then left him to warm up in his box before 
the fire. Within an hour he was apparently as 
well as ever, and the next time he was liber- 
ated, he ran off into the woods with the speed 
of a race-horse, showing no disposition what- 
ever to fly. The following year I got three 
hens and a cock, and this time I opened the 
box in the bird-house, and left them there for 
an hour or so to stretch themselves and regain 
their equanimity. Then the door was quietly 
opened, and the birds hopped out, one after 
another, and looked about. Now the old cock 
from the year before was one of the biggest 
birds I ever saw, and in full plumage he seemed 
to be fully a yard in length, while the new cock 
was rather less than the average size and weight. 
These new birds had scarcely gotten out of the 
house, when the old cock gave his hoarse crow 
from the edge of the woods near-by, and im- 

no 



SOME BIRDS 

mediately the three hens turned in that direc- 
tion, the new cock bringing up the rear, ap- 
parently in a somewhat doubtful frame of mind. 
That his suspicions were well founded was 
quickly proved, for the party had scarcely dis- 
appeared into the woods before the little cock 
came half flying, half running back and making a 
mighty clatter, with the old cock in full pursuit. 
Once the old cock saw the intruder driven 
well away, he returned proudly to the three 
hens and promptly added them all to his own 
household. The little fellow wandered about 
disconsolate and alone for some days, but later 
I saw that he had enticed one of the hens away 
from her larger and more brilliant lord and 
master, and together they reared their brood. 
Every fall since then, I have had from twenty 
to thirty of these birds on the island, but in 
the spring only four or five are to be found. 
Some doubtless perish in the cold winter, others 
fall victims to the wiles of the fox or owl, but 
some I know wander to the main shore, and 
take up a home there, they having been seen 
with their broods at various points about the 
shores of the lake. The laws of the State 
protect them at all seasons, and I have no 

in 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

doubt that these beautiful birds will gradually 
increase throughout the region, if they are 
looked after a little, and protected by the law 
for a few years. 

The past season we had two flocks, each of 
eight well-grown birds, one of them being as wild 
and timid as birds can be, while the other wan- 
dered at will across the lawns and near the house, 
feeding like barnyard fowls while the men were 
at work near by. In both cases the flocks held 
together, the old cock always in the lead, guiding 
and guarding the mother and the chicks, who 
followed obediently in his wake. I know of no 
more interesting sight than watching these birds 
and the grouse, as they wander fearlessly over 
the lawn. To me there is a greater satisfaction 
in seeing near me a wild bird who shows no fear 
than I could possibly experience in wringing his 
neck as I dropped his limp, dead body into a 
game-bag. Indeed, as the years pass by, I confess 
to taking less and less delight in murder of any 
kind. 

I was jeered at by all my friends for sending 
a dozen Quail to the island, and it was freely 
pointed out that there was not a single " Bob 
White " in the State, and that as six inches of 

112 



SOME BIRDS 

snow in New Jersey meant certain death to 
thousands of the species, it was absurd to expect 
them to survive the deep snows of Maine. As 
soon as these birds arrived in May, they paired 
off and we had several coveys of young birds the 
first year, there being eighty or more of them on 
the island in September. That winter the snow 
lay three feet deep on a level, but as the birds 
always found plenty of food and safe shelter in 
the bird-house, they survived the storms admi- 
rably, and a considerable number of them were 
still on the island when I arrived there in May. 
I am quite certain of this, as I not only heard 
their whistle frequently, but actually saw them. 
They were there until the first day of June, but 
after that no trace of them could be discovered. 
Where they went or why they went, I never 
knew. They were able to fly from the island to 
the main shore at will, and had been seen to 
make the trip frequently from and to a shore 
over a mile away. While on the island the Bob 
White made the air resound with his shrill, but to 
me, delightful whistle. They perched upon the 
trees and bushes close to the house, and their 
concert began with sunrise. For some reason or 
other their call annoyed Hortense excessively, 
8 113 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

and she kept the chore-boy busy all summer 
driving them away from the neighborhood of the 
house. She left in the fall vowing vengeance on 
the race, promising to eat dozens of their relatives 
during the winter, and declaring that she would 
never return to the island as long as the Bob 
White remained. It is a fact beyond dispute 
that they finally disappeared the very day she 
returned ; but whether it was an accidental coin- 
cidence, an answer to prayer, or a pure case of 
hoodoo, I do not presume to decide. 

Having no flower-beds the first year or 
two on the island, we had chickens in abun- 
dance, and they were allowed to roam at will. 
They chose their nests where they would, 
and though we had but few eggs, we had no 
end of broilers in the fall. George Pickens 
used to catch them, as he wanted them, in a 
landing-net, but later in the season they got too 
wild for that, and he appealed for help. The 
young fellows then used to get target practice 
shooting them through the head with a twenty- 
two calibre rifle, which did well at first, but later 
the chickens moved off" out of range the moment 
a boy appeared with a gun. A larger gun was 
therefore used ; but soon that became of no avail, 

114 



SOME BIRDS 

for at sight of any suspicious person the chickens 
ran like race-horses, dodging behind every tree. 
Then the shot gun was turned to, and snap shots 
had to be taken at the flying fowl while the gun- 
ner himself was on a dead run. When we left in 
the fall we had about forty chickens, wilder than 
any grouse I ever saw. I suggested to Deck that 
he might arrange, if possible, with some farmer 
to board them for the winter " on the halves." 
When I got back the following spring, I found 
the island once more well supplied with chickens, 
and said to Deck, " So you did get the chickens 
boarded c on the halves.' " 

" No," he replied, " I did n't. I could n't find 
any one that would board 'em at all. One man 
said he would n't board 'em ' for the wholes,' so 
I sold 'em to Jerry Oakes. I got twenty-five 
cents apiece for 'em and I sold 'em on the foot;" 
and Deck chuckled quietly to himself. "Jerry 
an' his boy came over to catch 'em one day, an' 
they chased 'em all over the island, but they 
never got a feather. They tried 'em again 
'nother day, but had no better luck ; so Jerry 
made a trade with some boys, agreein' to give 
'em half of all they could catch. Well, the boys 
chased 'em all day, and did n't get any ; so they 

"5 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

waited till the chickens went to roost at night, 
and then they 'd steal out under the trees, and 
catch mebby a couple by the legs. Then they 'd 
have to wait till the chickens got settled again. 
They was up all night, and as it was powerful 
cold they nearly froze, but they got the 
chickens." 

" But where did you get these chickens ? " I 
asked. 

" Oh, I bought 'em of Jerry Oakes ; paid him 
twenty-five cents apiece for 'em. Jerry was 
sellin' out. He 'lowed there wa'n't no money 
in chickens." 

But when the flowers came, the chickens went 
finally. 

We tried ducks too, but the mammoth frogs 
of the region swallowed the young ones ; the old 
drake murdered a few, the hen got paralyzed 
from long sitting, and the young ones who sur- 
vived never got big enough to eat before we left 
in the fall. 

Then four guinea-fowls came, and they were 
very entertaining for a time. The little spaniel 
had had much amusement chasing the chickens 
and levying contributions on their tail-feathers, 
and he doubtless thought that there ought to be 

116 



SOME BIRDS 

as much fun in the guineas. The first time he 
tried it, however, instead of running away, the 
guineas lined up before him like soldiers, and 
advanced with their saw-sharpening cry on the 
cocker. He stood his ground for a moment, 
looking at them in astonishment, and then, before 
their noisy advance, he turned tail and fled. It 
was the only time I ever saw this little dog run 
from anything ; but the cheers of the guineas and 
their martial aspect were too much for him. 
Then the guineas got to dusting themselves in 
the flower-beds, and their doom was sealed. 

Next came a peacock, who was beautiful to 
look upon, but he had an objectionable habit or 
two, in the opinion of some. He would roost 
on a limb of the highest birch-tree he could find 
or upon the roof of the house, and through the 
night he would claw at the shingles in a way that 
was most alarming and disturbing to the sleepers 
below. This was not so bad, of course, for I 
happened to sleep on the first floor ; but when 
this big bird sang, every one within a mile was 
forced to hear him. Al Wilbur took a special 
interest in the bird, and the peacock seemed to 
return his affection, for if he said anything un- 
derstandable at all, it was clearly, " Oh ! Al ! " 

117 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

uttered in a tone of voice as if he were sounding 
an alarm of fire. The bird seemed so uneasy 
that we finally decided th#t he was pining for a 
mate ; so we sent forthwith for a hen, but the 
result was not encouraging ; indeed, it only 
seemed to double the difficulty. She would 
perch beside him, and when he yelled, " Oh ! 
Al ! " she would give a hoarse croak of approval, 
encouraging him to renewed effort. 

The Professor arrived one night, and by sun- 
rise the next morning this pair of big birds were 
perched upon the porch railing near the natural- 
ist's window, doing their best to give him a lesson 
in ornithology. The Professor, however, failed 
to appreciate their efforts, and did his best to dis- 
lodge them, but they refused to move, unaffected 
by either his threats or his blandishments. Then 
he leaned far out on the window-sill, wild-eyed, 
his night-dress flapping in the morning wind, and 
flung the whole contents of his wood-box at 
these innocent birds. He must have been a bad 
shot, for he brought down no game, and, his 
ammunition being exhausted, he was forced to 
return to his bed groaning in despair. At break- 
fast-time he told us that he was forced, much to 
his regret, to return at once to Boston. My 

118 



SOME BIRDS 

scientific friend is by no means a skilful liar, and, 
suspecting him at once, we finally forced from 
him the whole truth. That night the men, 
under the Professor's enthusiastic leadership, 
rounded up the pea-fowl, and driving them into 
the woodshed, locked them up for the night, 
when peace settled down upon the island. But 
the end was near. These big birds must needs 
also dust themselves, and imagine, if you please, 
the appearance of the flower-beds after they were 
through with them. I waited for no formalities ; 
no court-martial was held, but I promptly pre- 
sented them to Deck, and when he accepted the 
gift, added, " Then they are yours from this 
moment ; but remember, if I find them on the 
island to-morrow morning, by the eternal ! I '11 
eat em. 



119 



CHAPTER V 

FLOWER-BEDS 
" / know a bank whereon the wild thyme blows.'''' 

BEFORE attempting to describe our flowers 
in detail, it will be well to say a word or 
two on the climate of the island. You 
must bear in mind that the region in which these 
flowers are growing is quite far north, and is 
moreover in a mountainous country, some seven- 
teen hundred feet above the level of the sea. 
The summers are short, the ice never leaving 
the lake before the ist of May, and often 
covering the water as late as the 22nd, while 
the remains of snowdrifts are often to be found 
in June. I have known several inches of snow 
to fall on the 20th of May, though it rapidly 
disappeared. The leaves on the trees begin to 
glow with their brilliant fall tints as early as the 
middle of September, and a month later the trees 
are quite bare. Snow is apt to come early, and 
when it once begins, the ground generally re- 

120 



FLOWER-BEDS 

mains covered until spring, lying at a depth of 
from three to six feet on a level. The ther- 
mometer sometimes drops as low as 40 below 
zero in midwinter, yet notwithstanding this in- 
tense cold the ground is never very deeply 
frozen. Its blanket of snow keeps it warm, 
and free from frost, and many times I have 
found the ground ready for cultivation when the 
remains of a snow-drift still lay but a few feet 
away. The temperature in summer is never ex- 
cessive. During the abnormally hot season of 
1900, the highest range of the thermometer was 
86° Fah., the maximum record, on the warmest 
day. Indeed, we rarely have more than a dozen 
days in a season in which the thermometer rises 
above 8o°. The nights are invariably cool, and 
one rarely if ever is able to sleep without being 
covered by a light blanket. Frost is not un- 
known even in midsummer in this region, though, 
owing doubtless to the effect of the surrounding 
water, we never have frost on the island between 
the 1st of June and the 20th of September. 

In such a region as this none but thoroughly 
hardy plants can survive. They get the protec- 
tion of fallen leaves, and the snow which nature 
provides, but beyond this they receive no cover- 

121 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

ing in winter. My object has been to grow only 
such plants as would stand the cold of our winters 
without artificial covering, and also such as would 
produce the greatest amount of bloom with a 
minimum of labor and care. The shortness of 
the summers renders it necessary that early- 
blooming annuals only be selected, for I have 
never planted any seeds in the house, nor, indeed, 
have I cared to grow any varieties which could 
not be safely sown in the open ground in the 
latter part of May, and all flowers which would 
not bloom by the early part of September follow- 
ing were discarded as unsuited to our garden. It 
must always be remembered that in other locali- 
ties the results attained would in many cases be 
quite different, and it is also possible that even 
with the same sort of climate and soil another 
might have marked success where I can only 
register failure. 

In giving my lists of flowers I have divided 
them into two main sections, — first, Perennials 
and Biennials, and second, Annuals. In both 
sections I have mentioned the species in the 
order of their desirability from my point of view. 
Possibly no other person would arrange these 
lists in quite the same order, for individual tastes 

122 



FLOWER-BEDS 

not only differ, but a change of locality might 
render certain plants less desirable, and introduce 
others which it would be impossible to raise at all 
in the mountains of Maine. Thus, the farther 
south we go the less profuse will be the bloom of 
the Iceland Poppy, until at last we reach a point 
where it will not live at all in the hot summer. 
I have purposely avoided reference to the large 
number of both annual and perennial plants which 
I have tried to raise, but with little or no success. 
It is possible that in many cases the seed was 
defective and would not have germinated under 
any circumstances, or the manner or time of 
planting may have been wrong, or again the 
weather may have been unpropitious, and the 
seeds rotted in the ground. Every flower, there- 
fore, which I have mentioned I have been able 
to study for a number of years in the blooming 
plant itself, and in most instances I have raised 
the plants from seed, noting the fact specially in 
describing the species wherever this was not the 
case. 

We have on the island eighty distinct flower- 
beds, most of which are simply round beds, seven 
feet in diameter, though some are long and nar- 
row, while others skirt around the edges of large 

123 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

boulders of granite, purposely left on the lawn. 
Most of these beds are on the southern side of 
the island, or quite near the height of ground if 
on the north side. I have had in the past many 
beds on the northern and western slopes ; but as 
few flowers would do well there, most of them 
have been abandoned and grassed over. It must 
be borne in mind also that no portion of this lawn 
is entirely free from trees, many of them being 
quite large, some of the birches being nearly three 
feet in diameter. The location of beds therefore 
was a matter of some difficulty, as we had not 
only to avoid the shade of the trees, but the 
spread of their roots also, which in periods of 
drought take up every particle of moisture, leav- 
ing nothing for either grass or flowering plants 
within its "sphere of influence." 

Once the place for a bed was finally settled, I 
prepared it for flowers by digging out all the 
good soil and passing it through a sieve with a 
mesh of a quarter of an inch. This settled the 
question of stones in the bed for all time to come. 
I found the soil a light loam for a depth of a 
little over a foot, beneath which was gravel. The 
gravel I removed for a depth of six inches more, 
and its place was taken by sifted earth and leaf 

124 



FLOWER-BEDS 

mould. This gave me a bed with over eighteen 
inches of as good soil as any plant could reason- 
ably demand. Every year since, each bed has 
received a coating of well-rotted manure, about 
four quarts of bone-dust and the same of wood- 
ashes and phosphate, the whole being lightened 
up with a half-wheelbarrow load of leaf-mould. 

On the southern side of the island the land 
descends rapidly from a height of fifty-five feet to 
the water. This slope was thickly covered with 
trees of various kinds, and studded with innu- 
merable bowlders and loose rocks. The trees were 
cut, the stumps removed, and the tree-tops burned 
up, over a space one hundred and fifty feet wide 
at the top and thence down to the water's edge. 
First of all it was necessary for us to get rid of 
the rocks, and as it would not do to simply tumble 
them into the waters of the lake, and to carry them 
up the hill would have been an expensive under- 
taking, it was obviously desirable that we should 
utilize them in some way in the locality where 
they then were. To begin with, we built a wall 
along the water's edge to protect the bank, and 
this somewhat lessened the over-supply of rocks. 
We next built another wall across the slope, 
and about one-third of the way up, making the 

125 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

wall about five feet high. It was necessary for 
us to husband the good soil carefully, as we had 
little opportunity to get extra earth for grading; 
so, first of all, we dug away all the good soil 
along the course the wall was to take, and for 
some six feet back of it, throwing the whole in 
piles up the hill, and as the wall progressed, 
rocks were piled in behind it and levelled up to 
within a foot or so of the top. The soil was 
then pulled in over these rocks, and that part of 
our work was done. Of course, an opening, two 
in fact, had to be made in the wall, and steps 
built therein of flat rocks. This work cleared 
out of our way the greater part of the rocks that 
troubled us, and the balance were used in making 
still other flights of steps in the eight terraces 
that were gradually constructed. We took care 
to save all the good earth in the spaces the steps 
were to occupy. Some of the gravel, too, be- 
neath it was exchanged for good earth in the 
paths at the head of each terrace. We were 
aided much in this work by the fact that at either 
end of the space occupied by the terraces ledges 
of slate rock cropped out, from which we were 
able to split great slabs of stone from four to 
nine inches thick, to be used for steps. In the 

126 




I 

h 



FLOWER-BEDS 

end we had a space of about three quarters of an 
acre, sloping southward, made into eight terraces, 
each about six feet in height, the whole being 
connected with flights of rough stone steps, laid 
up without mortar ; there being sixty-four steps 
in all from top to bottom. On these terraces, so 
prepared, we transplanted all our hardy perennial 
plants. Here they were protected from the cold 
north and west winds of winter, and the flying 
snow piled up over the bank, driven by the 
winds, thus covering the plants with a warm thick 
blanket of snow. Flowers survived here that had 
formerly died every winter on the northern or 
western slopes, and nearly all the species increased 
both in the size and in the quality of their bloom. 
At another point on the southern slope, pro- 
tected by a thick fringe of woods to the westward, 
I laid out my garden beds for the rearing of 
flowering plants and the few vegetables that we 
cared to cultivate. The space selected measured 
about forty-three feet east and west, and thirty- 
three feet north and south, with a slope to the 
southward. In this space we built fourteen beds, 
each being fourteen feet long by three feet wide. 
The beds were enclosed in cedar planks, nine 
inches deep, supported by stout stakes at each 

127 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

corner, and also in the centres of either side, 
the whole being coated with coal-tar. The 
paths between the beds were eighteen inches 
wide, and down through the centre the path 
was three feet wide, sufficient for a wheelbarrow. 
The good soil was all passed through the sieve, 
and the soil from one bed and one path was 
about sufficient to fill the bed with sifted loam 
to a depth of eighteen inches. Of course the 
rocks we found, and the siftings from the soil, 
together with the gravel taken out beneath the 
beds themselves, all went to fill in the paths. 
To compensate for the general slope of the 
land, each bed was depressed about three inches 
below its neighbor to the northward, while at 
the southeastern corner a terrace three or four 
feet high had to be built up above the natural 
level of the ground. Each year not a little soil 
is removed from the beds in transplanting, and 
the loss is made up generally with sifted leaf- 
mould. 

I use every season several of the garden beds 
for testing varieties of annual flowers that are new 
to me, and such seeds receive the greatest care 
and attention. We raise here, also, certain small 
vegetables, gathering all the radishes we require, 

128 



FLOWER-BEDS 

and having also some lettuce, a few onions, and 
a patch of parsley. Here also I test the possi- 
bility of raising certain desirable vegetables in this 
climate, and if successful, I recount my experience 
to one of my farmer friends, present him with 
the necessary seed, and promise to buy his vege- 
tables when ripe. This is quite as satisfactory as 
raising your own vegetables, and actually much 
cheaper to you, as you are compelled to raise 
more than you need in order to supply maximum 
demands. The farmer of course takes care of 
himself, and the surplus of his crop may be sold 
to others. The balance of the space in the gar- 
den beds is devoted to the raising of perennial 
and biennial plants, so that a supply of hardy 
plants may always be on hand, and each year, 
also, new species are tested. Considering the 
large number of plants tested by me in the past, 
it is remarkable how few I have found worthy of 
cultivation. 

With so large a number of trees on the lawn, 
we have of course a quantity of leaves to remove 
every spring. They are carried to a retired corner, 
and piled up to decay. We have four such piles 
on hand at all times, the oldest of which is used 
during the summer on the flower-beds and lawns. 
9 129 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

As we use so much sifted earth and leaf-mould, 
we always take advantage of a dry period to do 
our sifting, and quantities of each are stored over 
winter in barrels, ready for use in the early spring 
when most needed, and when the wet condition 
of everything makes sieving almost impossible. 



130 



CHAPTER VI 

PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 
" The heaven' s breath smells wooingly here.'''' 

I SUPPOSE, if I were compelled to choose 
one flower out of all the perennials and 
biennials on the island it would end in my 
selecting the Pansy, Viola tricolor. The pansy 
is at home in a cool climate. Saved from the 
withering summer's heat of more southern local- 
ities, it is bright and cheerful through July and 
August. It is true that the flowers are somewhat 
smaller during the warmer months, yet still there 
is not so marked a difference after all, and with a 
little search, in the shadier parts of the bed one 
may still find a big one on the hottest day of the 
season. 

The books make an enormous business of the 
raising of pansies, with cold frames, winter cover- 
ing, and numerous transplantings. I have had 
the best results with very little trouble. About 
the first of August I plant my seeds in drills 

131 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

in the garden beds, and before frost comes they 
are sturdy little plants, invariably wintering well 
without any artificial protection. About the first 
of June, or even earlier, they are transplanted 
to the beds, being set about nine inches apart, 
and almost immediately they begin to blossom, 
continuing in full bloom until frost. Bloom- 
ing as they do for so long a period, the seeds 
ripen gradually, and therefore it is quite a labor 
to gather them. Moreover, desiring the bloom 
to continue throughout the season, I encourage 
picking the blossoms freely, and make no attempt 
to gather the seed. You can buy the choicest 
strains from the seedsman, and be reasonably 
sure that they will germinate. The beds for 
pansies should be rich, and indeed they can 
scarcely be made too rich. Well-rotted manure, 
bone dust, and wood ashes should be dug well 
into the bed. 

Next in order is the Blanket Flower, Gail- 
lardia grandiflora superba, a cultivated variety of 
G. aristata. Grouped together on one of the 
terraces, the whole is a mass of brilliant color for 
several weeks, and at its height one could scarcely 
thrust a cane through the plants to the ground 
beneath without touching a blossom. The 

132 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

flowers are large, brilliant in color, and last a 
long time when cut. Its cultivation is of the 
simplest, and it is readily transplanted in the early- 
spring. As the plants are large and spreading, 
they should not be set closer together than from 
fifteen to eighteen inches. On the terrace the 
plants attain a height of from two and a half 
to three feet, and the flowers measure from three 
to five and a half inches in diameter. It is 
easily reproduced from seed, cuttings, or division 
of the roots. The seeds are easily gathered, and 
with little trouble one can obtain all that may be 
desired. It is better to mark specially large 
blossoms and save the seed from them alone. 
The Gaillardia does not seem to require a very 
rich soil, but I always scatter about the roots 
in spring a little phosphate, ashes, and bone-dust. 
It begins to bloom as early as June 20th, and 
some blossoms may still be seen until frost, but 
it is at its best during all of July and August. 

The old-fashioned Sweet William, Dianthus 
barbatus, is a prime favorite with me. It is per- 
fectly hardy, and survives the coldest winter if 
reasonably protected with snow. The colors 
vary considerably, and are classed generally as 
dark or light shades, though it would be difficult 

133 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

to say to which class some of the heads belong. 
I plant my seeds in the garden beds in spring, 
and later in the season, when the plants are well 
grown, remove them to the beds where they are 
to remain. The plants may be set out about 
one foot apart, and I always sow, in the fall, 
fresh seed in the spaces between the plants. 
Sweet William is a biennial, blooming the second 
year, and the plant thereupon dies, after having 
first cast its own seed. The plants from this 
self-sown seed will not bloom until the second 
year, and therefore, if you would have bloom 
each season, you must sow the seed the same 
year that you transplant. This will give you a 
constant succession of blossoms, while otherwise 
you would find but few blooming plants in 
alternate years, and indeed you would have none 
at all but for the belated individuals who had 
failed to bloom with their brethren. It begins 
to bloom June 20th, continuing to the 20th of 
August. 

Aquilegia, or Columbine, is found throughout 
the northern parts of Europe, Asia, and Amer- 
ica. It is fond of mountain regions, and is re- 
markable for the brilliancy and variety of the 
colorings of its numerous species ; some of the 

?34 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

choicest of which are natives of western North 
America. Among the finest are A. carulea, the 
Rocky Mountain Columbine ; A. Californica, 
the California Columbine, and A. Canadensis, 
the Canadian Columbine. Some authorities 
claim that these species are apt to die after once 
blooming, but my experience has not confirmed 
this, and I have plants that have been blooming 
in the same position for several years past. The 
common Columbine, A. vulgaris, is more bril- 
liant and varied in its coloring than the western 
American species, which are remarkable rather 
for the delicacy of their shading. All these 
species are easily raised from seed, and I have 
had much more success when sowing the seed in 
the early spring than at any other time. In my 
experience the seeds take a long time to germi- 
nate, especially the American varieties, which I 
have known to lie dormant for a full year. The 
plants are easily transplanted if taken up before 
beginning to bloom. They like good rich soil, it 
is said, but they have done well for me in almost 
any situation, and with scarcely any attention. 
They bloom from June 5th to July 16th on the 
island, though I have had a yellow variety bloom- 
ing as late as the middle of August. 

135 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

Coreopsis lanceolata is one of the most satisfac- 
tory of perennials. It is a profuse bloomer, and 
remains in blossom for quite three months during 
the summer, beginning the 4th of July and still 
showing some of its golden coloring at the end of 
September. It is not perfectly hardy, and it is 
well to plant a few rows of seeds annually so as to 
be supplied with fresh plants. The seed is easily 
gathered, but the blossoms should be marked and 
only the largest saved for seed. I prefer to sow 
this seed in the spring rather than in the fall. 

A charming companion for the Coreopsis is 
Scabiosa Caucasica, with its light blue flowers, 
three inches or more in diameter. Lilac-blue 
some of the catalogues call it, but that does not 
quite describe this beautiful shade. It is not so 
profuse a bloomer as Coreopsis, but it is even 
more hardy. It is an excellent flower for cut- 
ting, and the blossoms last a long time in water. 
It does not seem to be particular as to its soil, 
and it does well in bright sunshine or partial 
shade. It is not very generous in producing its 
seed, though there is little trouble in collecting 
and cleaning all that one needs. I prefer to 
plant this seed also in spring. It blooms from 
July 10th till frost. 

136 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

Digitalis purpurea is a noble plant of the easiest 
cultivation. It is called Foxglove in common 
parlance, which seems a stupid sort of name, but 
it is claimed that it was originally known as the 
Fairies' Glove, or Fairy Folk's Glove, then 
simply Folk's Glove, and finally Foxglove. 
This is on a par with the inn kept by the pious 
Puritan who displayed as a sign, " God encompass- 
eth us," to be changed, as the letters disappeared 
and tradition only remained, into "Goat and Com- 
passes." Digitalis, according to Gray, is a peren- 
nial, but in my experience it is a biennial, and never 
blooms a second time. It casts its own seed in the 
most generous manner, and a single stalk may pro- 
duce fully a hundred thousand seeds. The seeds 
are very small, but from their enormous number 
are easy to collect. To the best of my recollection 
I never bought but a single packet of this seed, 
getting enough to cover the bottom of a thimble 
at a cost of ten cents. From this package of seed 
all of my plants have descended, and with con- 
stant improvement in the strain, beginning at 
a height of three or four feet, they now reach 
seven or eight feet, and it seems to me that the 
flowers themselves have increased both in size and 
in number. This flower is interesting from the 

137 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 




care it apparently takes to secure cross-fertiliza- 
tion. When the blossom first opens, and the 
anther is laden with pollen, the style 
remains tightly closed at the tip, so 
that none of its own pollen can enter 
and fertilize the seed. As soon as 
the pollen is all brushed ofT, the tip 
of the stamen opens, funnel like, 
and the very next bee that comes 
along is sure to deposit enough 
pollen from another plant to fertilize the seeds. 
Watch the bees at work sometime. You will 
notice that the lower blossoms open first, and 
they taper in various stages toward the top, 
where only the green buds appear. 
Now when the bee comes along, 
he seeks his nectar first from the 
well-opened blossoms below, and 
then works upward. So you see he 
has deposited his load of pollen on 
the flower that was ready for it, and 
as he goes up the stalk he takes on 
again a fresh load to fertilize the 
flower on the next plant on which he calls. Take 
your pen-knife the next time you are in the garden, 
and slit up the petal of the flower, so you may 

138 





A Clump of Foxglove 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

see all this for yourself. In the mean time these 
sketches, drawn from nature, will help you to un- 
derstand it all. I have not planted any of these 
seeds for some years ; the plants themselves do it 
all. Digitalis does not seem to care what sort of 
a soil or situation it gets, growing in sunshine or 
shadow, and has spread even to the neighboring 
woods. The seeds lodge in the crevices of the 
rocky steps where no soil at all was intended to 
be, but there they grow, and thrive, and bloom, 
even starting up in the gravel walks like very 
weeds. In color it ranges from pure white to a 
deep red or purple, with variations of cream and 
rose, marked with blotches of purple or maroon. 
The seed may be planted in the spring on the sur- 
face, and the earth firmed down about them. They 
are easily transplanted in the spring and require 
little if any attention. The great stems of parti- 
colored blossoms make handsome decorations for 
the hall-way. Digitalis is found in different species 
in northern Africa, southern Europe, western Asia, 
and one species, at least, in Siberia. It blooms 
on the island from the ist of July to the 20th of 
August, and is at its best about the last week of 
July. I have seen, however, a belated individual 
or two in full bloom the last of September, 

139 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

Of all the species of Campanula, unquestionably 
the most attractive for garden cultivation are the 
Medium varieties, the well-known Canterbury 
Bells. They come single, double, and in the 
" cup and saucer " shape, and vary in shade from 
pure white to lavender, mauve, pink, rose, salmon, 
blue, and purple. The Cup and Saucer variety 
is known as C. calycanthema. All these varieties 
are biennials, and the seed should be sown in the 
spring or early summer. It is not worth while to 
buy seeds of all the varieties, for if you purchase 
the most expensive, C. calycanthema, you will find 
that the flowers will be mainly ordinary singles 
and doubles. It is as a general thing wise to buy 
the choicest varieties of most seeds in quantity, 
and you will find that you have got more than 
you need of the commoner sorts. The only way 
you can get the shapes and colors you prefer is 
to mark your best plants and collect the seeds 
from them. To be in any way certain even then, 
you must take care to remove other plants of a 
different shape or color from the neighborhood of 
your chosen variety. The medium Campanulas 
do well in ordinary garden soil ; prefer sunlight to 
shade, and are easily transplanted. They bloom 
on the island from July 12th to September 15th. 

140 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

Our next choice among hardy perennials would 
be the Delphiniums, or Larkspurs. There are a 
number of species, and a large number of varieties 
of hybrid sorts. D. grandiflorum, called also D. 
Chinense, and D. Sinense, grows to a height of 
two or three feet with flowers of a deep blue. 
D. Cashmerianum is said to grow from fifteen 
inches to two feet in height, but I have plants 
which reach to quite three feet. The flower is 
large, and of a charming shade of azure blue. 
D. elatum, the Bee Larkspur, is the tallest mem- 
ber of the family, and six feet is given as its 
maximum, but one of our plants on the terrace 
annually reaches a height of over ten feet. D. 
formosum, a variety of which is called D. cheilan- 
thum, grows from three to five feet high, bearing 
rich dark blue flowers, tinged with purple with a 
white eye. There is a species from California, 
known as D. nudicau/e, which grows to a height 
of from two to four feet, with scarlet or yellow 
flowers. D. elatius is a tall variety of D. nudicaule, 
and there is apparently not enough difference 
between the latter and D. cardinale to justify the 
creation of a new species. So, too, D. Zalil is 
probably the yellow variety of D. nudicaule, 
though on these points there is much confusion. 

141 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

All varieties of perennial Larkspur seem to require 
a well-drained locality, and are said to do best in 
a rich soil. The tallest, sturdiest plant we have 
has certainly not got more than nine inches of 
soil on top of the bed of broken stone on which 
it rests. The period of the bloom of Larkspur, 
like many other perennials, may be protracted by 
cutting back the stalks as soon as they have 
finished flowering. So a bird, if its eggs are 
stolen, will build another nest, and lay another 
set of eggs. Does the flower know that its seeds 
have been destroyed, as the bird knows it? The 
Larkspur may be increased by dividing the roots 
in spring, and this should be done in any event 
every few years. They are apparently hard to 
raise from seed. I have bought the seeds of 
D. nudicaule again and again, and planted them 
with the greatest of care, but not a single seed has 
ever germinated. They seem to lose their 
vitality if kept for any length of time, but I have 
had fair fortune in raising plants from seeds 
planted as soon as they were ripe. The Lark- 
spur blooms on the island from July ist to 
August ioth. 

The Hollyhock, Althea rosea, is a superb 
plant in the garden, the flowers being single, 

142 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

double, and semi-double, and ranging in color 
from white to almost black, including every con- 
ceivable shade of rose, red, lavender, purple, and 
yellow. The choicest, to my taste, are the large 
semi-double strains with fringed petals. Every 
seedsman seems to have his own distinctive name 
for this variety. One calls it " Mammoth 
Flower," another " Mammoth Fringed Alle- 
gheny," while with a third it is simply " Alle- 
gheny," but, whatever the name, it is the best. 
A distinct dwarf species is the Japanese, or Tokio. 
Some dealers, probably because it is new, declare 
that this species is t£ superior to all others." 
Don't believe a word of it. It is not worth 
growing, except by those who crave novelty at 
the sacrifice of all else. The plant is low, bears 
but few flowers ; the range of color is limited, 
and every shade bad. The dealers tell you that 
"it possesses odd tints, peculiar only to this 
variety." Fortunately for the other varieties, 
this is quite true, as the only shades I have seen 
are a horrible maroon, or Solferino, and a soiled 
yellow. Hollyhocks may be readily raised from 
seed, as the seeds germinate well, even if several 
years old, and the young plants are easily trans- 
planted, if moved before they grow large. The 

143 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

root stalk is very long, and even in young plants 
it requires something like a crow-bar to get a hole 
deep enough for their accommodation. The 
Hollyhock is a puzzling plant as far as its hardi- 
ness is concerned. Old plants die under the 
most favorable circumstances, and live when 
almost any plant would be justified in giving up 
the struggle. I have seen a plant half projecting 
from a snow-drift in the latter part of May, and 
looking green and healthy as it waited for its 
other half to be uncovered. I gather the best 
seeds from the choicest plants, and always raise a 
few new plants every year. You may as well 
make up your mind in advance to treat the 
Hollyhock as a biennial. If you do this, you 
will be pleased now and then to find that some 
favorite plant has survived the winter, but if you 
treat it as a perennial you will be continually 
disappointed. The plants should be staked up 
early, so that they may not be prostrated by 
storms. Good galvanized-iron stakes are the 
best, as well as the cheapest, for they never break 
or wear out, and it is well to see to it that they 
are tall enough to be serviceable, as this plant 
often attains a height of twelve feet. The Holly- 
hock requires a deep rich soil to do its best, with 

144 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

plenty of water in dry weather. If a few large 
flowers are what you desire, you must thin out 
the spikes, cut off the side shoots, and sacrifice 
half the buds on the remaining stalks. If you 
simply desire profuse bloom, let them alone, and 
give the plants plenty of liquid manure at inter- 
vals. I transplant my Hollyhocks into a long 
bed two feet or so apart, doing this work in 
the early spring, and then drop a seed or two 
of some choice variety into the spaces between 
the plants. This assures us bloom the fol- 
lowing year if the old plants die. The Holly- 
hock begins to bloom on the island about July 
20th, and continues until frost. The single 
varieties are invariably the first to bloom, and 
the whole bed is at its best about the middle 
of August. 

Myosotis, or Forget-me-Not, ought to be much 
higher up on the list than this, but I hardly know 
what to displace to make room for it. There are 
several varieties in cultivation. M. palustris, a 
common wild flower in Great Britain, bears 
flowers which, though generally blue, are some- 
times white. A variety of this species from its 
long period of bloom is known as semperfiorens. 
M. alpestrisy a dwarf variety of M. sylvatica, is 
10 i 45 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

an Alpine species of varied coloring, ranging from 
deep blue to rose and white, and of course the 
seedsmen make several species out of it. M. syl- 
vatica is a British species that grows well in the 
woods, though palustris and alpestris have found 
their way into the woods on the island, and thrive 
there. John Burroughs tells of a dwarf species 
which he found growing at Plover Bay on the 
coast of Siberia in 1899. He says: "The 
prettiest flower we found was a low Forget-me- 
Not, scarcely an inch high, of deep ultramarine 
blue, — the deepest, most intense blue I ever saw 
in a wild flower." Possibly this plant may be 
M. Rehsteineri ; but I have never seen it, and the 
descriptions are too vague to decide the question 
certainly. Such a plant would be a valuable 
addition to our hardy spring bloomers. The 
seed of the Forget-me-Not should be sown in 
early summer. It may be scattered broadcast 
where the plants are to bloom, or planted in 
drills in the garden beds and then transplanted. 
I adopt both methods, as I can always find a place 
for this charming flower. It blooms from the 
first to the end of June and scantily in shady 
spots through July. 

Here, again, is the Iceland Poppy, Papaver 
146 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

nudicaule, which certainly should not be so far 
down on our list of choice hardy perennials. As 
its name indicates, this poppy is a cold-weather 
flower, and it is not likely to do well in warm 
regions, as the heat of a southern summer would 
be sure to kill it. On the island it vies with the 
Pansy in the race for the first blossom of spring, 
I have had it in bloom as early as May 26th, 
but it is not at its best until about the 7th of 
June. It continues to bloom profusely until 
about the 10th of July, but we can always find 
some plants in bloom throughout the whole sea- 
son, from the melting of the snow to the coming 
of the frost. When at its best, these small, 
robust plants are covered with blossoms. It 
seems to do well in most situations, if not too 
shady ; and with me it has done best on the 
southern slopes in full sunlight. Though the 
color of the flower is usually yellow, you will find 
many white and deep orange blossoms, with now 
and then a semi-double specimen in any of these 
colors. The seed is easily gathered and cleaned, 
and should not be planted later than midsummer, 
that you may get hardy plants before cold weather. 
You can buy all the colors separately from the 
seedsmen, but at the same time you need not ex- 

147 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

pect the colors to come true. I advise you therefore 
to buy simply the mixed seeds, for in them you 
will find all the colors. Thereafter, if you desire, 
you can keep the colors separate when you gather 
your seed ; like the seeds you buy, however, you 
will find that they will not always come true, but 
show a constant tendency to produce yellow 
flowers. 

The Oriental Poppy, Papaver orient ale , is by 
all odds the most showy perennial one can have. 
The single flowers of brilliant scarlet on long 
stems are most effective. The flowers often attain 
a diameter of nine inches or more. A variety, 
bracteatum, bears the largest flowers, each of the 
four petals being marked with a black spot at the 
base. Some hybrid forms have been produced 
with pinkish or salmon blossoms. Seeds from 
the latter, however, have always produced scarlet 
flowering plants for me. This plant is easily 
raised from seed, which should be sown early in 
July, and the fresher the seed is the better. It is 
easily transplanted, if the plants are taken up 
when quite young. It blooms on the island from 
about the 20th of June to the 10th of July, 
and sparingly for a week or so later, its short 
period of flowering being its only defect. Before 

148 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

blooming the bright green foliage of the plant is 
most attractive. 

The Lily-of-the-Valley, Convallaria majalis y 
is simply an indispensable adjunct to the flower- 
garden. It has been moved to a dozen different 
spots on the island, but at last has come to rest 
on a southern exposure in partial shade, with 
some degree of moisture in the soil. Here it has 
done admirably, increasing the number of its 
plants and also the size of its flowers, with very 
little care or attention. I planted the crowns 
separately five or six inches apart, which gave 
ample room for spreading ; and I did this in 
September, though all the authorities agreed in 
insisting that this work should be done " late 
in autumn or during the winter months with open 
weather." I did not find, however, that the plants 
in any way resisted removal at this earlier period, 
or were any the worse for it afterwards. The bed 
will be improved by a top dressing of manure in 
the fall. It blooms with us from May 25th to 
June 25th. 

Phlox is a purely American genus. Gray gives 
eleven species, all of which are perennials, except- 
ing only the well-known P. Drummondii. Of the 
three species commonly seen in gardens, the tall 

149 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

late-blooming P. paniculata, generally referred to 
in the catalogues as P. decussata, is probably the 
most familiar. It grows from three to four feet 
in height, and in some localities reaches quite five 
feet. The colors have been varied largely by 
hybridization, and there are many named varie- 
ties. The original color of the type was a pink- 
purple, with a white variety. Now we are able 
to get these fine flowers in shades of scarlet, sal- 
mon, crimson, lilac, violet, rosy-mauve, purple, 
pure white, and a large number of plants with 
these colors mixed and blended in bewildering 
profusion. The plant is easy of cultivation, 
needs little attention, and a bed once established 
will last for several years. It may be reproduced 
by dividing the roots in spring, or from seed. 
In the latter case the seed must be planted as 
soon as possible after ripening, for if kept over 
till spring it is quite worthless. Do the seedsmen 
know this ? They certainly offer the seeds for 
sale at all times in the year. It blooms on the 
island from August ist until frost. 

Closely akin to the above is the P. maculata, 
which is generally referred to as P. suffruticosa. 
This species is not so tall as the late-blooming 
variety, rarely exceeding two feet, but its flowers 

150 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

are quite as attractive, and it begins to bloom as 
early as the 15th of June. In this case also 
there are a large number of named varieties. Its 
cultivation is the same as that of P. paniculata. 

Phlox subulata, the Moss Pink, has little re- 
semblance to its tall and stately brethren. Its 
foliage is moss-like, and its delicate branches, ly- 
ing prostrate on the ground, bear pinkish-purple 
flowers in profusion, almost hiding the foliage. 
It is a true mountain plant, and rejoices in a 
home on some rocky ledge. A variety bears a 
white flower, making the ledge in spring look 
like a drift of belated snow. I have never tried 
to raise this plant from seed, but bought the 
plants themselves, increasing them by cuttings, 
which quickly take root. It is one of the very 
best plants for rock work, blooming on the island 
from June 15th to July 24th. There are a num- 
ber of varieties of this species, among them being 
P. frondosa, with rose-colored flowers ; P. nivalis, 
white ; P. Nelsoni, white with pink eye ; and many 
others. 

Phlox reptans y P. verna, or P. stolonifera spreads 
by long runners which send up straight stems six 
inches high, bearing clusters of from six to eight 
rosy-red flowers, three-fourths of an inch across. 

151 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

It is perfectly hardy, and grows well in a rocky 
border in light soils. It blooms a little later than 
P. subulata. 

Monarda didyma, Oswego Tea, Bee Balm, or 
Fragrant Balm, is of the Mint family, and is a 
most desirable acquisition. In a favorable loca- 
tion it grows to a height of four feet, bearing 
upon its stems bright red flowers, which remain 
in bloom from July ioth to September 12th. 
I have tried raising it from seed, but with little 
success. It is, however, so easily divided at the 
roots that it is a waste of time to bother with the 
seeds. One plant at the end of the first season 
was divided into seven, and the following year 
each of the seven was capable of almost as exten- 
sive a division. To-day I have probably a thou- 
sand of these plants, all in good condition, which 
have come directly from the same parent stem. 
They look by far the best in masses, and I find 
that although they will live in partial shade, they 
do best in full sunshine. One of the odd features 
of this flower is its tendency to continue its stem 
through the corolla, and at the height of an inch 
or two producing a second blossom, and in some 
cases even a third appears, making a flower three 
stories high. A near relative is M. fistulosa, or 

152 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

Wild Bergamot, with flowers varying in color 
from rose to purple and white. I have tried 
none of this genus but didyma, but that I cordially 
commend. 

Pyrethrum roseum, — Chrysanthemum coccineum, 
as properly it should be called, — or Feverfew, is 
a handsome flower which comes to us from the 
Caucasus, and is there the source of the Persian 
Insect Powder. It is easily raised from seed, is 
perfectly hardy, and a profuse bloomer, its bright 
red daisy-like flowers being an ornament to the 
garden and to the table as well. The seeds are 
easily collected, and may be sown in the spring 
or the late summer. By careful selection the 
color has been greatly increased in range, and we 
can now get varieties in white, white with yellow 
centre, purple, crimson, carmine, red, pink, lilac, 
and rose. It blooms from June 20th to July 
25th. 

Campanula carpatica> or Carpathian Harebell, 
is one of the most desirable of the campanulas 
after the medium varieties. It bears well up above 
the foliage numerous cup-shaped flowers, on stems 
ten inches or more long. The original color is a 
light blue, but varieties have been produced of a 
still paler blue and white. It bears an abun- 

153 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

dance of seed, a little tedious to gather ; but as the 
seeds are small a modest quantity will be all that 
you will need to keep up the species in your 
garden. It blooms profusely from July 5th till 
August 1 st, and sparingly as late as September. 

C. glomerata grows about eighteen inches high, 
and bears clusters of rich dark purplish-blue flowers, 
from the 19th of July to the 1st of August. It 
is good for cutting and decoration, and is an 
attractive feature in the garden. I have not suc- 
ceeded in raising it from seed. 

C.pyramidaliSy Chimney Campanula^ Steeple 
Bellflower, is the tallest of the genus, growing 
in favorable localities to a height of six feet. The 
flowers are generally blue, though there is a white 
variety, and the bloom continuous for nearly two 
months in summer. It is not difficult to raise 
from seed, and this should be done yearly, as the 
plant is apt to die out after blooming once or 
twice. Indeed, all varieties of Camyanula ought 
to be treated as biennials, and a few plants raised 
every year, if you would keep up the supply. 
The seed does best with me when planted in 
the spring. 

C. latifolia grows to a height of two feet or 
more, bearing small blue tubular-shaped flowers. 

154 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

It blooms for six weeks and more in summer, 
is very hardy, and its seeds will soon fill its own 
bed with plants, and invade others fifty feet or 
more away. 

Dianthus plumarius, the old-fashioned Garden 
or Scotch Pink, needs no description. Some of 
the varieties are not hardy enough to stand the 
cold winters on the island, and among them is the 
so-called " Hardy Pink Her Majesty." It will 
not live there, and, indeed I have had no success 
at all with plants or seeds of any of the varieties so 
highly praised. All on the island have been 
raised of late years from seed gathered there. I 
set the plants one foot apart, and then plant seeds 
in the spaces between them. The following year 
I repeat this operation at another spot. This 
ought to insure constant bloom, but it does not 
always do so, and every now and then we have a 
year almost devoid of pink blossoms, though the 
plants seem to be large and healthy and able to 
bear flowers if they would. Its bloom begins on 
the island June 15th, continuing to August 1st. 
The seeds are not hard to collect, but as nature 
intended to drop them gradually, and not all at 
once, you will find that they may be dislodged 
much easier if the pods be allowed to ripen thor- 

155 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

oughly by remaining for a week or two in a box 
with a free circulation of air, and in the sun for a 
time each day. To pull each separate pod apart 
and pick the seeds out would be found very 
tedious, and you would get many unripe seeds 
in this way. 

There are a large number of lilies offered by 
the seedsmen, many of which are said to be per- 
fectly hardy. My list of successes is but a brief 
one, but there is no doubt that it may be mate- 
rially increased by further experiment. The best 
of all is undoubtedly Lilium auratum> the Golden- 
banded Lily of Japan. The flowers are large, 
blooming profusely on well-established plants, 
and deliciously scented. On the island it blooms 
from August 15th to September 10th, and in my 
experience it is perfectly hardy. I planted the 
bulbs in two localities, one group being on the 
terraces in full sunshine, in a well-drained soil, 
through which water from the rocky ledges per- 
colates during the summer. The others are on 
the top of the hill, on the edges of a clump of 
rosebushes and flowering shrubs. In the latter 
place the plants grow scarcely more than three 
feet high, and the flowers, though comparatively 
few in number, are of enormous size. On the 

156 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

terrace, on the other hand, the plants sometimes 
reach a height of ten feet, bearing large numbers 
of flowers, though the blossoms themselves are 
much smaller than those in the other bed. I 
have never attempted to reproduce this lily from 
seed. 

Lilium tigrinum, the well-known Tiger Lily, 
needs no description. It is easy of cultivation, 
thrives in almost any situation, but likes deep 
sandy loam, and is perfectly hardy, blooming 
from August 20th to September 15th. There C 

are a number of varieties, the double variety, 
splendenSy being tall and showy. It is easily re- 
produced from the bulbels which form in the 
axils of the leaves. These bulbels should be 
planted just as they begin to sprout and are 
ready to fall to the ground. I have surrounded 
a single stalk with numerous younger plants by 
simply cutting the bed a little larger each fall, 
and pressing the bulbels into the soil. I have 
also raised a number of good plants in the gar- 
den beds, transplanting them after they were a 
foot high. In this way I have obtained sturdy 
blooming plants in two or three years. 

Lilium tenuifolium, the Siberian Coral Lily, is 
a treasure in a cool climate. Ordinarily it grows 

157 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

about eighteen inches in height, but I have had 
plants three feet high, covered with the daintiest 
wax-like little lilies of intense scarlet. It blooms 
early in the summer, and bears quantities of seed 
in its pods. These seeds germinate freely if 
planted either in September or in the following 
spring, and from them you may obtain bloom- 
ing plants in two years. 

Lilium speciosum and its varieties, as well as L. 
longiflorum^ I have tried ; but so far my experi- 
ence leads me to fear that none are hardy enough 
to survive our cold winters and late springs in 
Maine. L. candidum has persistently died for 
me in the past, after a single season's bloom, 
but I hope still to get it acclimated when I 
find just the right spot. L. croceum ought also 
to do well on the island, but so far I have 
not been successful with it. 

Hemerocallis flava, the Yellow Day Lily, is 
a very desirable plant. The bright lily-like 
flowers, deliciously fragrant, are most attractive 
on the lawn and are also good for cutting, last- 
ing a long time in water. I have had the best 
results with this plant on low ground near the 
water. The seeds are easily gathered, being 
large, and the plants are by no means difficult 

158 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

to raise. The seeds germinate freely, whether 
planted in the fall or the following spring. 
There are several other species, and among them 
may be noted H. fulva, which is taller than 
the former, and bears copper-colored flowers ; 
H. middendorfii, a Siberian species, with golden- 
yellow flowers ; and H. minor, with grass-like 
leaves, comes also from Siberia. 

On one occasion attracted by a dealer's adver- 
tisement of a White Day Lily, I ordered a 
dozen plants, only to find that I had received 
a consignment of Funkia, the Plantain Lily, 
for which I really did not care at all. You 
cannot always order by familiar names and be 
sure of getting what you want. Thus, if you order 
a plant of Woodbine, you may get either the 
Virginia Creeper or a Honeysuckle. When 
the late lamented Colonel James Fisk, Jr. told 
the court, on cross-examination, that the money 
of the Erie Railroad had " gone where the wood- 
bine twineth," no one knew whether he referred to 
Lonicera Periclymenum or Ampelopsis quinquefolia y 
the former of which a dealer describes as " Com- 
mon Woodbine," and the latter is characterized by 
the same authority as " Our Well-known Wood- 
bine." It is undoubtedly true, however, that 

159 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

both species will go " up the spout " when op- 
portunity offers, and that was where the money 
went. 

As, above all things else, I like profusion in 
the flower world, I confess to a fondness for 
Malva moschata, the Musk Mallow. It is 
such a happy, contented plant, and not at all 
particular whether it grows in sunshine or shade, 
but quite satisfied if you will only let it alone. 
Root it from the garden bed, and it will spring 
up in the path. Cut it down with the hoe, and 
it will creep in amongst the gooseberry bushes, 
and, defended by their prickly stems, it will 
bloom there abundantly. It grows about two 
feet high, and is crowded with white or rose- 
colored blossoms, two inches in diameter, bloom- 
ing from June 26th to August 20th. It is 
generous in the production of seeds, which are 
prevented from falling too early by the stickiness 
of the hull. You can leave the collection of the 
seeds until the plant is well dried, when they are 
easily shaken out. 

Dicentra spectabilis, the well-known Bleeding 
Heart, needs no description. It is perfectly 
hardy, blooming from the 8th till the 20th of 
June. The rootlets should be planted in the 

160 ' 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

autumn, though on one occasion a belated bun- 
dle of bulbs and roots remained unpacked all 
winter, and the Bleeding Heart portion all sur- 
vived the experience, though they did not bloom 
the first year. I have never been able to get the 
seed, though some of my plants have cast their 
own seeds to a considerable distance, to grow 
and thrive in a stump-corner devoted to climb- 
ing Nasturtiums. The proper method of in- 
creasing the stock is to take up the roots in 
the fall and divide them. 

Dielytra is said to be a name erroneously given 
to Dicentra. If this be so, why not drop it once 
for all ? Yet we see it constantly used in the cata- 
logues and even in books on botany. I remem- 
ber once Steve Hubeley, my then head gardener, 
asked me whether that Bleeding Heart up by 
the house was the same as that down by the 
wharf, and upon my telling him that it was, 
he remarked with evident relief, " I thought 
it was, but that one down by the wharf has a 
terrible comical name on it." And some of our 
botanical names may well be called comical. 

I wish I were able to report better success 
with Roses in this cold climate. I have set out 
scores of so-called hardy varieties, and though 
ii 161 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

many are still alive, only three species look 
comfortable and contented. Of these the best 
undoubtedly is Rosa rugosa, the familiar Japan- 
ese rose. When well grown, they form round, 
shapely bushes, fully five feet or more high, 
covered with deep green foliage so glossy as 
to suggest the possibility of their being covered 
with varnish. It bears in profusion large single 
roses, which are succeeded in the fall by the bril- 
liant scarlet fruit, as large as a queen olive. If 
this bush bore no flower or fruit, it would still 
be a valuable acquisition on the lawn from the 
beauty of its foliage. There are two varieties, 
one bearino; red and the other white flowers. 
Of the two, I prefer the white, but I would not 
willingly be without either of them. It blooms 
profusely from about June 20th to July 1 8th, 
and sparingly thereafter until September. It 
can be reproduced from cuttings, from dividing 
the roots, and from seeds. The seed takes a 
year to germinate, but it is worth the trouble, 
time, and space. 

Rosa rubiginosa, the Sweet Brier, is hardy 
enough for this latitude, and does wonderfully 
well. Like rugosa, it looks best on a favorable 
spot on the lawn where it has plenty of room to 

162 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

spread on every side, and so develop the best 
there is in it. It blooms from the ist to the 
15th of July. 

Rosa lucida, the dwarf Wild Rose, has been 
caught in the region and tamed. There is a 
hedge of it now on the island, more than a hun- 
dred feet long, that every year increases in the 
beauty of its bloom and the richness of its foliage. 
It blooms from June 20th to July 15th. 

Chrysanthemum uliginosum, the Giant Daisy, 
uniformly called by the dealers a Pyrethrum, was 
described in such glowing terms in a catalogue, 
with such a tremendous picture to prove the 
truth of it all, that I was convinced that I could 
not get along with less than eighteen plants. If 
I had bought but one plant, and had annually 
divided its roots, I could to-day have covered 
half an acre with the product. It is a wonderful 
grower, thrives anywhere, and pushes to the wall 
every other plant in its neighborhood. It grows 
five or six feet high, bearing large white daisy- 
like flowers in profusion, from the first week in 
September until frost. 

Chrysanthemum lacustre, or latifolium, and C. 
maximum are both hardy plants, bearing large 
single white daisy-like flowers. They may be 

163 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

raised from seed, and bloom from August ioth 
to September 15th. 

Agrostemma coronaria^ or, as it is now called, 
Lychnis coronaria, is also known as Rose Cam- 
pion, Mullein Lychnis, Mullein Pink, and 
Rose of Heaven, though the latter name prop- 
erly belongs to L. cceli-rosa. It grows about three 
feet high, and bears numerous flowers about an 
inch in diameter in loose clusters. In color it 
ranges from a dark rose to white, with some 
specimens white with a crimson eye. It does 
well on dry banks and in full sunshine, though 
it is apt to die out after blooming once or twice. 
While it will seed itself, it is still best to gather a 
few seeds each fall and plant a fresh row annually 
in the seed beds, as the plant is well worth keep- 
ing. It blooms from July 15th to September 

1 St. 

Lathyrus latifolius, or Perennial Pea, is a hardy 
vine, worthy of attention. It is easily raised from 
seed, but the plants must be moved when quite 
small. Once established they should be allowed 
to remain, and they will continue to bloom for 
several years. They do not need a trellis, but 
look better, and seem more at home, if allowed 
to climb at will over a sloping rock or ledge. 

164 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

The flowers are mainly red and white, though 
varieties in light rose, and also a darker rose, 
have lately been introduced. The seeds are 
easily gathered, and from them new plants may 
be raised without trouble. It blooms from July 
ist to September ioth. 

The severe winters of the mountain regions of 
Maine make it difficult to find perennial vines 
which will stand the cold. Besides Lathyrus 
latifoliuS) which dies to the roots at the first frost, 
I know of but one vine able to live over win- 
ter in this region, that being Ampelopsis quinque- 
folia, Virginia Creeper, or American Wood- 
bine. It is a rapid grower, and easily increased 
by partially burying the prunings in the earth. 
I cover two or three buds, and permit a bud to 
emerge from the ground at either end. They 
will quickly root in this position, and the follow- 
ing year you will have from them good strong 
vines. 

Some species of Iris do well here. /. prisma- 
tica, or /. Virginica, the native American Iris, 
fills the low swampy lands of the region, and in 
June an acre or more may be seen thickly cov- 
ered with the nodding blue blossoms. It may 
do to fill waste spots, but it is not worthy of 

165 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

much attention. /. pseudacorus, the Yellow 
Iris of Europe, is also found here sparingly, and 
withstands the winter. It also is not very attrac- 
tive. I have had no trouble in inducing /. laevi- 
gata, or Ktempferi, the Japanese Iris, to grow 
here, and /. Germanica, the German Iris, or 
common Fleur-de-lis, is equally hardy. If you 
would raise this plant from seed, the seed must 
be sown as soon as it is ripe. 

Gypsophilla paniculata is perfectly hardy, and 
with its long slender branches covered with 
delicate leaves and bearing innumerable minute 
white blossoms, it is a valuable addition to the 
vase of Shirley Poppies. It blooms from July 
1 2th to August 20th. A lady once spying it 
exclaimed, " Oh, Mr. Dexter, what is that beau- 
tiful plant ? Is it not called ' Matrimony ' ? " 

" No, my lady," I was forced to respond, " but 
doubtless it is close kin to it, as it is called Baby's 
Breath." 

It has a long root stalk and must be trans- 
planted when quite small. The seeds are some- 
what troublesome to gather, but it will not prove 
a serious task to obtain all that you will need to 
supply possible losses. 

Once when we were putting out this plant one 
1 66 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

of the men asked me what it was. I told him that 
it was called " Baby's Breath," but that the 
proper name was Gypsophilla. Later I heard 
him passing this information on to the other men, 
and they were solemnly informed that the plant 
was called Baby's Breath, but that the proper 
name was Gypsy's Fill. But my helpers have 
long since passed that stage of botanical knowl- 
edge, for I always insisted upon calling my 
plants by their proper names, and the men were 
forced to increase their vocabulary. 

" Now, Henry," I remember saying once, 
" we '11 have a box full of Pyrethrum roseum from 
the garden." 

The other men laughed, and Henry hesitated, 
finally asking, " Do you mean them carrot tops ? " 
Yes, it was the " carrot tops " we wanted, and he 
had learned what Pyrethrum roseum was like in 
its youth. At the same time it is a bit annoying, 
after you have once learned so important a fact, 
to find that this is not its proper name after 
all, but that it should be called Chrysanthemum 
coccineum. 

Linum narbonnense, the Perennial Flax, is as 
charming and delicate a flower as can be found 
anywhere. It is a profuse bloomer, and its sky- 

167 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

blue flowers, about an inch in diameter, look as if 
made of the finest porcelain. It grows to a 
height of nearly two feet, and remains in bloom 
from June 20th to frost. It is easily raised from 
seed, and the plants improve with age. It is 
perfectly hardy. 

Lupinus polyphyllus is an admirable plant in 
masses. Its foliage is luxuriant, and the great 
stalks five feet high are covered with blue or 
white or blue and white blossoms from June 
1 2th to July 7th, and sparingly to August 1st. 
I have one terrace thirty feet long nearly covered 
with Lupins, and in the midst the Oriental 
Poppies raise their brilliant scarlet heads at inter- 
vals, while off" at one corner is a bush-like mass 
of Achillea covered with its small white blossoms. 
The general effect is inconceivably beautiful. 
This terrace is at its best but a few days, however, 
at about the first of July, but those few days are 
worth working and waiting for. The Lupine is 
easily raised from seed, but after getting it well 
established, you will not need to gather more 
seeds, as the plant is most active in extending 
its rule over new soil. As the pea-like seed- 
pod dries out, it suddenly cracks open, and the 
halves twist into curls, tossing the seeds in differ- 

168 




13 
1-3 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

ent directions to a considerable distance. This 
flower comes from the Pacific coast of North 
America, and is naturally acquisitive and impe- 
rialistic in its tendencies. 

Bellis perennis, the English Daisy, may not be 
worth much for table decoration, but it is most 
interesting to look at on the edges of the terrace. 
Its colors range from white, red, and pink to 
crimson, both flat-petalled and quilled, single 
and double. They are easily raised from seed 
and are perfectly hardy, blooming from June 
20th to frost. They are attractive in masses and 
equally so as a carpet about taller plants, such as 
Coreopsis, and are charming mingled with For- 
get-me-Nots. I sowed the seed broadcast over a 
bit of lawn on one occasion, and many plants 
appeared the following spring, sending their 
bright blossoms three or four inches above the 
ground. But one day along came the lawn- 
mower, and every flower was laid low. Warned 
but not deterred by this, the next time they 
blossomed the stems were scarce half an inch 
long, holding the flowers close to the earth, and 
below the range of the lawn-mower's knife. I 
was interested in this, and therefore took up a few 
of these plants and removed them to a corner free 

169 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

from the danger of the mower, and lo ! up went 
the new stems three or four inches into the air, 
while their brethren in the grass still continued 
to hold their flowers close to the earth. Do 
flowers think ? Look at the Dock- Weed in the 
unused corner, and see how it sends its leaves 
luxuriantly a foot nearly into the air, while its 
stems bearing flowers and incipient seeds are 
taller still. Then look at another specimen in 
the lawn, invaded so frequently by the mower, 
and you will find its leaves prostrate, so close to the 
ground that no knife of mower can touch them, 
and the stalk carrying the precious seeds is 
scarcely an inch in height. 

Man is so conceited that he will not acknowl- 
edge that any other form of life than his can 
reason or think, have the faculty of perception, 
or give expression to thought. Nonsense ! All 
animals think, most of them talk, and some have 
high reasoning powers ; and why not plants ? 
Down on the Chesapeake a winged-tipped goose 
is often saved alive to be used as a decoy. An- 
chored among the wooden cheats, he will gener- 
ally see the approaching game before you do, and 
his " Se-Honk ! Honk ! " will turn the flock in 
your direction. Why does he call ? Is it in the 

170 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

hope of help that will loosen his bonds ? Not 
long ago a friend of mine having broken the wing 
of a wild goose, saved him for a decoy. The 
break was a bad one, necessitating the amputation 
of a portion of one wing, rendering it impossible 
for him to ever fly again. Did he realize that ? 
I don't know, but I do know that the first time 
he was used, and a flock of geese were seen com- 
ing straight to the decoys, the crippled goose 
never uttered a sound until just before the bunch 
arrived within gun-shot, and then raising his head 
he gave a " Honk ! " with an inflection that sent 
the whole flock away from the point of danger as 
fast as they could fly. That honk evidently 
meant "go," not "come," and it was understood. 
It was always so thereafter. No goose ever came 
within gunshot of a blind when this lame sentinel 
was on guard, and in the end he was killed and 
eaten, a martyr to his race. 

Wound a duck, and see how by flying, swim- 
ming, or diving, he will hasten to the seclusion of 
the marsh. Once there he proceeds to dress his 
wound, filling the cavity with a lint made of straw, 
and fine fibres to stop the bleeding and insure 
healing from the inside. Do you know that 
primitive man did no better surgery than that? 

171 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

Indeed it was precisely the same treatment that 
was formerly followed by man, and not so long 
ago either. Moreover I have seen wounds on 
the neck of a duck, treated in this way, in such a 
position that it would have been practically im- 
possible for the wounded duck to have dressed it 
himself. Another must have done it for him. 
But are we not getting away from our flowers ? 
I don't know that we are, for there are flowers in 
the wilderness other than those on stems, be they 
long or short. 

You can have all the Peonies you want in 
a climate as cold as our island, and they will give 
you but little care or trouble. There are numer- 
ous varieties, and four distinct species in the 
herbaceous class. One of these, Paonia albi- 
flora, the Chinese P^ony, flowers later than the 
European species, P. officinalis and P. peregrina ; 
so with a judicious mixture you can double the 
period of bloom. All these species are perfectly 
hardy. They delight in partial shade, and do 
best in a deep moist loam, their bloom being 
improved by an application of manure water at 
the budding season. When the plants grow too 
large, take them up in the spring, separate the 
roots and transplant in fresh soil. 

172 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

With P<eonia Moutan, the Tree P^ony, I have 
had no success. I was anxious to establish this 
species on the island, and used great care in setting 
out the plants, but the first winter they all died. 

Platycodon grandiflorum, sometimes improperly 
classed as a Campanula, is a desirable plant which 
comes from northern Asia. It bears large Cam- 
panula-like blue or white flowers, and is easily 
raised from seed. It apparently dies out after 
blooming once or twice, and you will have to 
plant seeds every year if you would keep up the 
supply. It does well in partial shade and in any 
light soil, which, however, should be well drained. 
P. mariesii is a dwarf form with somewhat larger 
flowers. P. autumnale is said to be taller and more 
hardy, with smaller flowers, but I have not yet 
tried this variety. 

There are a number of species of Rudbeckia, 
the well known Cone-flower, all of which are 
hardy perennials with the exception of R. bicolor, 
a half-hardy annual. Nurserymen have offered 
for sale the plants of a variety of R. laciniata 
which they call Golden Glow. It grows to a 
height of fully eight feet, bearing numerous large 
golden-yellow flowers, quite double in form, and 
resembling the double dahlia somewhat in shape. 

173 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

It is an attractive plant, a free bloomer, and 
under favorable circumstances will produce fully- 
one tenth as many flowers as may be seen in the 
ordinary catalogue picture. I have not yet had 
an opportunity to test its reproductive qualities in 
any way, but the plants are not expensive, and 
bear transportation well. 

There are several varieties of Heknium, or 
Sneeze Weed, in cultivation, the best known 
being the American H. autumnale. It grows to 
a height of four or five feet, and bears numerous 
showy yellow flowers in September which last a 
long time in water. It is a good plant, easy to 
raise, and worth having, but it is by no means 
" one of the most valuable of all the hardy plants," 
as I have seen it described. It may be easily 
raised from seed, and is perfectly hardy. Other 
species highly commended are H. Bolanderi and 
H. Hoopesii, but I have had no experience with 
either. 

Bocconia cordata, or Plume Poppy, is an inter- 
esting foliage plant which comes from China, and 
is therefore generally known as Bocconia Japonica. 
It grows fully eight feet high, and its large lux- 
uriant leaves give it a tropical appearance. Its 
flowers are minute and inconspicuous, but the 

174 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

seedsman will tell you that it " bears freely 
spikes two or three feet long of cream-colored 
flowers." It is not difficult to reproduce, either 
from seeds or by division ; indeed, once estab- 
lished, " the trouble is to keep from it," as it 
spreads rapidly by suckers. 

Callirhoe involucrata^z member of the Mallow 
family, grows wild in the Mississippi Valley from 
Minnesota to Texas. It is a prostrate little plant, 
spreading over a couple of feet of ground, and 
bearing throughout the summer and until frost 
numerous violet-crimson flowers about an inch 
and one half in diameter. It does well in partial 
shade or in full sunshine, and is perfectly hardy. 
Instead of trusting to an enormous quantity of 
seed for its perpetuation, as so many flowers do, 
each blossom produces but five seeds, and of 
these one appears to be invariably sterile. The 
pistil is divided into five segments, each termi- 
nating at the base in cup-shaped form, or more 
like a human hand half-closed, which holds the 
seed. As the stem dries and the seeds become 
thoroughly ripe, one of these little cups will 
loosen its hold on the base of the stem and 
springing up suddenly throw the seed to a dis- 
tance of ten or fifteen feet. The sketches on 

175 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

page 177 will show the bud, blossom, erect pistil, 
and its appearance when it has just cast away one 
of its seeds. 

Arabis albida, the Rock-cress, is a valuable 
spring blooming plant which grows well amidst 
rock-work or in almost any locality. It is per- 
fectly hardy, and on the island is covered with 
small white flowers from June 15th to July 1st. 
It is easily grown from seeds, and can be increased 
from cuttings without difficulty. 

Paradisea (Anthericum) liliastrum, or St. Bru- 
no's Lily, sends up a stalk about two feet high 
with dainty little white flowers an inch long, 
pendent from the stem. It is easily raised from 
seed, and is hardy. The major variety attains a 
height of nearly three feet, with flowers somewhat 
larger than the type. 

Achillea ptarmica, Yarrow, or Sneezewort, is 
another of those wholesome looking and acting 
plants that seem to thoroughly enjoy life. I raised 
a few plants from seed of the double variety, the 
Pearl, a few years ago, and now the only trouble 
it gives is to keep it within bounds and teach it its 
place. It grows fully three feet high, and bears 
from July to September a profusion of very double 
little flowers, three fourths of an inch in diameter. 

176 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 



w 




bd 









12 



177 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

Anchusa Italica, or Alkanet, is a vigorous plant 
which grows three or four feet high, and bears 
numerous panicled racemes of small dark blue 
Forget-me-Not-like flowers. It blooms a long 
time, and a plant or two in the wild garden will 
not be objectionable, though why one nursery- 
man calls it " a very useful perennial," I cannot 
for the life of me determine, it being quite useless 
for cutting, the blossoms fading before you reach 
the house and refusing to revive in water. 

Baptisia australis, or False Indigo, is a vigor- 
ous, hardy plant which attains a height of three 
feet or more, bearing racemes of dark blue Lupine- 
like flowers. It is easily raised from seed, and a 
plant or two will not come amiss in large gardens. 

Polemonium cceruleum^ or Jacob's Ladder, is a 
hardy plant with very attractive, fern-like foliage, 
growing three feet or more in height, and bearing 
in profusion small blue flowers throughout the 
summer. It is easily raised from seed. 

Veronica spicata, or Speedwell, is a hardy plant 
three feet high which bears long spikes of small 
blue flowers. It is easily propagated from seed, 
and spreads like a weed from self-sowing. 

Centaur ea montana, a perennial species of Corn- 
flower, known as Mountain Knapweed, is a 

178 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

coarse and worthless plant. It can be easily 
raised from seed, but is not worth the trouble nor 
the space. The dealer who sold me the seeds 
originally declared in his catalogue that " for cut- 
ting purposes it is invaluable." This may be 
quite true, but only a hoe should be used to do 
the cutting. 

There are various perennial species of Alyssum 
and Iberis y or Candytuft, none of which offer any 
attractions to me. In all of them the bloom is 
quickly over, and none of them are in any way 
equal to the annual varieties. Like the perennial 
Centaurea, both Alyssum and Iberis are but shabby- 
looking plants when the period of bloom is over. 

Some years ago a dealer described a species of 
Valeriana in such glowing terms as Hardy He- 
liotrope, that I bought an ounce of the seed, 
determined to have a bank full of such a charming 
flower. When the plants blossomed they looked 
about as much like heliotrope as they did like pan- 
sies, and their odor was as rank as the seedsman's 
offence. The man who could dub such a plant 
heliotrope is a genius in a way. This name he may 
have invented, as I have never seen it elsewhere. 

Tradescantia Virginica^ or Spiderwort, was 
described in the florist's catalogue as " a showy, 

179 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

highly decorative plant, forming an erect bush 
producing numerous terminal umbels of large 
flowers, which are produced in great profusion the 
whole of the summer." Of course there is some 
truth in this statement, for the plant is erect and 
does produce terminal umbels of flowers, but all 
the rest of the description is airy persiflage. A 
plant or two will not be amiss, if one has plenty 
of room, otherwise it may properly be omitted 
altogether. 

CEnothera biennis - , var. grandiflora, or Evening 
Primrose, I first raised from seed several years 
ago, and since then I have been pulling it up, 
whenever seen, in the vain endeavor to get rid 
of it. It is odd enough to justify a plant or two 
in a large garden, but as it is a biennial, casting 
ever a bountiful supply of seed, one is either com- 
pelled to get rid of it altogether or else permit 
it to overrun the entire garden. 

Anthemis tinctoria, Golden Marguerite, or 
Chamomile, is a hardy plant growing three feet 
high, and bearing small daisy-like yellow flowers. 
In itself it is by no means bad, having some 
merit, but with so many other plants available 
bearing handsome yellow flowers, it seems to me 
hardly worth cultivating. 

1 80 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

I do not consider the purple blossoms of 
Lunaria annua or biennis. Honesty, beautiful. 
The odd flat seed-pods that appear in the fall are 
sufficiently curious, however, to admit the plant to 
the edges of the open woods. As long as it is con- 
tent to remain there, well and good, but it must 
keep out of the garden and off of the terraces. It 
is easily raised from seed. 

Several years ago I planted a big root of Yucca 
filamentosa, and the first year its leaves were a foot 
high. Since then it has annually appeared and 
grown a foot high, but it has never done anything 
else. I am willing to wait for it to make up its 
mind either to die or to go to work. 

I have done my best to induce different varie- 
ties of Violet, Viola odorata, to grow on the 
island, but the seeds uniformly refuse to germi- 
nate, and some dozens of plants described as 
hardy all died the first winter. 

About 1893 seedsmen vied with each other in 
extravagant praise of Centrosema grandiflora, or But- 
terfly Pea, declaring it to be " a perfectly hardy 
perennial vine of rare beauty, which blossoms in 
July from seed sown in April, the plants growing 
from six to eight feet in a single season, bearing 
in great profusion pea-shaped flowers two and 

181 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

one half inches across." As far as my experience 
goes it is not hardy, and is a worthless because 
impossible plant in northern regions. None of 
my plants reached a greater height than three 
inches, the balance of the eight feet never materi- 
alizing, and the first dash of frost tumbled down 
the feeble three inches. I tried these seeds for 
three successive years with the same result. 
Little has been said of this plant lately by the 
seedsmen, but a few individuals, who doubt- 
less still have some of the stock of this novelty 
left on their hands, continue to quote it in 
their catalogues. It is a common weed in the 
sandy woods of Maryland and Virginia and 
farther south, and has been known to botanists 
for a century. 

For fully ten years past I have tried carefully 
every variety of Carnation which the dealers 
have certified to be hardy, but thus far with no 
satisfactory results. The last variety I tried was 
known as the Hardy Garden Carnation, and 
during the first winter every plant died. The 
second year a few of the plants survived, but the 
bloom was scanty, and, while I purpose to give 
this variety a still further trial, I cannot say at 
the present time that I know of a satisfactory 

182 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

carnation hardy enough to withstand the winters 
of northern Maine. 

I have also tried two or three species of Helian- 
thus y or perennial Sunflower, under the most 
favorable conditions, but none have survived the 
winter. This flower is most attractive, and I 
regret my inability to make it feel at home under 
six feet of snow, but some flowers, like some 
people, are very particular. 

Here our consideration of the perennials and 
biennials on the island properly ends ; but while 
it is not my intention to describe the wild flowers 
of the region, there are certain species susceptible 
of cultivation, to which I must refer briefly. 
There is no more beautiful flower growing wild 
in northern Maine than Linn<ea borealis, the 
Twin Flower. The genus was named after the 
great naturalist Linnaeus, and this flower was 
said to be his favorite. If you will look at the 
engraving of a well-known portrait of the natur- 
alist, you will see that he holds in his hand a sprig 
of the Twin Flower. Miss Alice Lounsberry, in 
her charming " Guide to the Wild Flowers," tells 
this story of Linnaeus : — 

" A friend gathering a small flower on the shore of a 
Swedish lake asked the great botanist if it were L. borealis. 

183 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

" l Nay,' said the philosopher, ' she lives not here, but 
in the middle of our largest woods. She clings with her 
little arms to the moss, and seems to resist very gently 
if you force her from it. She has a complexion like the 
milk-maid ; and oh ! she is very, very sweet and agree- 
able.' " 

It is, as its specific name indicates, a northern 
plant, rarely found in America south of Maine, 
except at a high elevation, but common far north 
in the British Provinces. It appears to extend 
around the globe, bordering the Arctic Circle in 
Europe, Asia, and America. In Europe it is 
found as far south as the mountains of Scotland. 
It is a low, creeping plant, bearing slender stalks, 
about two inches high, from the top of which are 
suspended two trumpet-shaped pinkish-white 
blossoms about the size of the bloom of the 
Lily-of-the-Valley, but much more delicate. It 
is deliciously fragrant, blooming in June, under- 
neath the trees and ferns, in moist, mossy locali- 
ties, and there it spreads freely, forming a dense 
carpet. It is not difficult to transplant, and if 
given a cool, shady spot it could doubtless be 
grown much further south. 

The Trillium, Wood-Lily, Three-leaved 
Nightshade, Wake-Robin, or BirthrooTj is 

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PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

one of the most widely distributed of American 
flowers. In one species or another it is found 
from Florida to Labrador, and from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific, especially northward on the west 
coast. In Maine the species ordinarily met with 
are T. cernuum, bearing a small white flower ; T. 
erectum^ with an ill-scented purple flower ; T. 
erythrocarpum> or Painted Trillium, white with 
purple stripes, and T. grandiflorum, the finest of 
all, with a large pure white flower. The Trilliums 
bloom in early spring, which on the island is in 
June. The bulbs are easily transplanted, but 
they should be moved in late summer or early 
fall when dormant. They require partial shade 
and a light loamy soil. 

Cornus Canadensis^ the Bunchberry, or Dwarf 
Cornel, is a species of dwarf Dogwood, growing 
wild in northern Asia and America. Its true 
flowers are small, but the large white bracts make 
a beautiful effect in June, to be followed in the 
fall with brilliant red berries in little bunches. 
It grows in moist shady spots, being about five 
or six inches high. It is easy to transplant, and 
I have it growing on the edges of the rocks 
amongst mosses and ferns. 

Three plants of special interest thrive on the 
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AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

island to a superlative degree, all being emi- 
nently useful, if not ornamental. The first is 
Asperula odorata^ the Sweet Woodruff of old 
England and the foundation of the Mai-trank of 
Germany. The young sprigs are gathered in 
spring and placed in a good-sized punch-bowl, 
when a bottle of Rhine wine is poured over them. 
The leaves are allowed to steep for twenty-four 
hours, when a second or third bottle of wine is 
added, with sugar to the taste and a single block 
of ice. When cool enough, we will, if you please, 
gather around the bowl. A. odorata does not 
grow wild in America, and is not often found in 
gardens. There is, however, a plant which has 
some resemblance to it, Galium trifolium> and this 
the German-American in his innocence often 
gathers for the Meisterwurz. Mr. F. V. Coville, 
the Botanist of the Agricultural Department at 
Washington, once told me that he had on several 
occasions been called upon to identify the Galium 
trifolium, and that the parties seeking the informa- 
tion were invariably of German descent, and he 
could not understand at first the interest of these 
people in this particular plant. When the use to 
which Asperula odorata was put was explained to 
him, the solution of the puzzle was not difficult. 

1 86 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

I failed completely in attempting to raise this 
plant from seed, and none of the nurserymen being 
able to supply the plant itself, I was almost in 
despair, when Mr. Coville managed to get for me 
a few of the roots from a personal friend, and 
these were planted in a shady spot on the edge 
of the woods, where they have done admirably. 
I have increased their numbers materially by 
division, and this attractive little stranger now 
seems firmly established in prohibition Maine. 

I will not attempt to give a scientific account 
of the species of mint which grows in a luxuriant 
bed on the low ground near the wharf. Its 
parents came in a cigar-box from the neighbor- 
hood of Richmond, Virginia, and such a plant 
needs no scientific pedigree, it being, beyond dis- 
pute, an honored member of one of the first 
families of Virginia. To describe the uses to 
which its tender leaves may be put in the spring 
and early summer, would be but a thankless task, 
for none but a true Virginian has ever penetrated 
its deeper mysteries. 

Perched high on the edge of a rocky ledge is 
another plant of great interest to the serious 
student of nature, Tanacetum vulgare, or Tansy. 
How its tender, fern-like leaves may add to the 

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AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

comfort of mankind it would be useless for me to 
attempt to explain here, but if the intelligent 
reader in search of knowledge will call at the 
island about the hour of noon, upon any day 
between June and October, I shall be charmed to 
give him (or her) an illustrated lecture upon the 
uses of Tanacetum vulgare. 



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CHAPTER VII 

ANNUALS 
" Our little life is rounded with a sleep.'''' 

IF I were compelled to choose for cultivation 
one flower only from the list of annuals, I 
would without hesitation select the Poppy. 
The seedsmen have done, and still are doing, all 
in their power, apparently, to confuse the flower- 
grower in regard to this genus, and their lists are 
filled with fanciful names of species and varieties 
to such an extent that it is often impossible for 
one to know what he will get when he buys the 
seed. Let me do what I can to unravel the 
snarl. 

Papaver somniferum, the Opium Poppy of the 
East, is a well-recognized species, and is not 
easily mistaken for any other in cultivation. The 
plants are generally taller than any other species, 
and are invariably heavier in stalk and thicker in 
leaf. The leaves are smooth, wavy, of a more 
bluish green than any other species, and are what 

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AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

is termed glaucous, that is, covered with a fine 
white wax-like powder that will rub off on the 
hand, as is the case with the skin of the fresh 
plum or the leaf of a cabbage. The seed-pod 
is very large, sometimes nearly as big as an ordi- 
nary hen's egg, and is short oblong in shape. 
The seeds themselves are much larger than those 
of any other species. The flowers are large, 
with a great variety in color, and are single, 
double, or semi-double. There are two forms of 
the double Opium Poppy, P. Murselli and P. 
■pteony '-flowered. P. Murselli is almost invariably 
referred to in America as the Carnation-flowered 
Poppy, which is erroneous, the name having been 
previously applied to the double form of P. 
Rhceas. P. Murselli — or Carnation-flowered, if 
you will — has very double flowers with fringed 
petals. The dealers advertise endless named 
varieties. In this class we find such names as 
Eiderdown, White-Swan, and Snow-Drift. 
Now all of these are actually the same flower, a 
double white Somniferum Poppy with fringed 
petals. What possible object can there be in 
giving it three distinct names ? The advertiser 
of a large general store was once requested by 
the head of a department to write a paragraph 

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upon some collars. After careful questioning, 
this is what he wrote : — 

" An uneasy man at the Market Street end of the 
middle aisle has picked up half a dozen sorts of gentle- 
men's collars, had new names stamped on them inside, 
and wants us to say that those collars are nowhere else 
to be got, and that they can be got there two for a 
quarter." 

It is needless to say that the head of the 
house drew his blue pencil through this 
paragraph. 

Other named varieties in this class are Fairy 
Blush, which is white tipped with rose, and 
Mikado, white tipped with crimson. If you 
buy a package of either, you are nearly sure to 
get plants bearing flowers of both these colorings. 

The paeony-flowered class is well named. Its 
round balls of bloom with broad petals bear a 
close resemblance to the familiar Paeony, and the 
flowers often rival it in size. Among the 
named varieties may be mentioned Snow-Ball 
and Lady-in-White (the same flower again, 
simply a double white), Crimson King, Rosy 
Morn, Firebrand, American Flag, Laven- 
der Beauty, Eldorado, and Black Knight. 
Among the named varieties of single somniferum 

191 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

Poppies may be noted the Bride, pure white, 
Empress of China, white with scarlet margins, 
and Danebrog, or Danish Flag, scarlet with a 
white cross in the centre. 

You may expect to raise single or semi-double 
flowers from the seeds of any of the double 
varieties, generally, however, following the parent 
closely in the matter of color. You may gather 
and plant the seeds of a single Poppy of this 
species, and environment may cause it to produce 
remarkably double flowers. If your plants are 
too close together in your beds, or if for any 
other reason they are not sufficiently nourished, 
you may expect to raise only small single or 
semi-double flowers, while on the other hand, if 
you give your plants plenty of space and ample 
nourishment, you can produce large and very 
double flowers. 

From the seeds of a plant that bore large single 
flowers with blackish-purple base, shading to 
mauve and edged with salmon, I raised in a single 
season large and very double Paeony-flowered 
blossoms, exactly like the parent in color. From 
the seeds of these I got both double and single 
forms, in the colors of the original, and also a 
variety in which white took the place of the 

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I 
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dark purple. By experiment I found that from 
the seeds of a single flower I could produce 
double flowers at will, by simply giving the plants 
plenty of room in a favorable situation, and work- 
ing in a little garden phosphate about them when 
they were six or eight inches high. 

You will also find in the catalogues Poppy 
seeds offered under such names as " Maid of the 
Mist," " Fayal," " Oriental Beauties," and " Gi- 
ganteum," with such trifling descriptions that no 
human being could tell to what species any of 
them belonged. One dealer, after offering you 
the seeds of Paeony and Carnation-flowered Pop- 
pies, adds thereto " Double Somniferum." It 
would be interesting to know what he meant by 
such a classification, for it presents a puzzle quite 
as perplexing as that submitted to a friend of 
mine on one occasion. His coachman came to 
him to ask his advice about a telegram just re- 
ceived. The message read, " Mother has fits. 
Answer." Instead of dividing the distinct species 
one from another in their catalogues, the dealers 
generally mix them all up together, and then 
absurdly sort them out again into single and 
double, so that it is quite impossible to tell 
whether a Poppy of a given color will prove to 
13 193 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

be an Opium Poppy of the East or a Corn 
Poppy of Europe. 

Papaver Rh<eas, the Corn Poppy of Europe, 
has foliage of a more yellowish green than P. som- 
niferum, with more slender stalks, and the leaves 
are neither smooth nor glaucous, but bristly. 
The pod is small, compared to the Asiatic flower, 
is egg-shaped, with the broad end upwards, and 
bears a much smaller seed. The Shirley and 
the English Scarlet are well-known varieties 
of this species. The delicacy, grace, and wonder- 
ful colorings of the Shirley Poppy should have 
suggested to the growers the great possibilities 
of this strain, and encouraged them to pay more 
attention to the production of new shades and 
forms, but on the contrary they seem to have 
devoted their energies to the stiffer, coarser 
blossoms of the eastern species. All varieties 
of the Corn Poppy remain in bloom for a much 
longer period than the somniferum. The plants 
usually grow to a height of about two feet, but I 
have had specimens that exceeded four feet. The 
flowers are either single or semi-double, never 
approaching the round ball-like flowers of the 
double somniferum. The double form of the 
Corn Poppy is known in Europe as Ranun- 

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culus, or Carnation-flowered. The flowers 
usually grow to a diameter of three and one-half 
or four inches, and under favorable circumstances 
will exceed five inches. The single forms are in- 
variably the larger, the double rarely exceeding a 
diameter of three and one-half inches. The best- 
known variety of this species is the Shirley, and 
no garden flower I know of can rival it in the 
beauty of its coloring and the delicacy of its out- 
lines. The colors range from a pure white to a 
carmine, with every conceivable shade between 
the two. As with other forms, the Shirley, 
under certain conditions, shows a tendency to 
become partially double. Nothing could be more 
beautiful than the Shirley Poppy as a decoration 
for the table, though the very delicacy that chal- 
lenges our admiration makes its life but a brief 
one after cutting. The best time to gather them, 
or indeed any variety of Poppy, is in the early 
morning, before the dew is off the petals, and 
even then you should select the blooms that are 
but just opening to the sunshine. 

I have tried for a couple of years past a variety 
advertised in admiring terms under the name of 
Majestic, but have finally abandoned planting it, 
as it appears to be only a strain of the Shirley 

195 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

class of rather less than ordinary merit, a typical 
seedsman's " Novelty." The Irresistible is 
another variety I have tried, and after trying it 
found no difficulty in resisting it. 

The English Scarlet is a thoroughly desirable 
acquisition. In habit of growth and size of plant 
and flower it does not differ from the Shirley. 
The flowers are a bright scarlet, and a bed of 
these plants is an attractive feature on the lawn, 
while the flowers are admirable for table decora- 
tion. It comes true from seed, but both it and 
the Shirley are apt to cross with each other, 
even if planted a considerable distance apart. By 
simply pulling up the Shirley plants from the 
English Scarlet bed, and performing a similar 
service for the Shirley bed, as soon as the in- 
truders show their character, both strains may be 
kept measurably pure. 

Papaver Hookeri, or Hooker's Early-flower- 
ing Poppy, is a variety distinguished mainly by 
its tall growth, the flowers being remarkable 
neither for their size nor coloring. It grows to a 
height of fully five feet, bearing flowers of vari- 
ous shades from scarlet and rose to lavender, 
which rarely if ever exceed in size a diameter of 
three inches. It is one of the earliest forms to 

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ANNUALS 

bloom, but its tallness is a serious objection, the 
slender stems not being able to carry the weight 
of leaves and flowers, and, even with the aid of 
staking, the plants are nearly certain to be pros- 
trated by wind or rain before the blooming 
season is over. 

There is not a little merit in some of the vari- 
eties to be found in what was called a few years 
ago Wilks's Improved Rh^as, and I got from 
the mixed seeds of this strain some beautiful 
shades. 

P. umbrosum is simply a variety of Rh<eas from 
the Caucasus, bearing a single scarlet flower with 
a black blotch at the base of the petal, sometimes 
margined with ash gray. 

For some years past I have saved annually the 
seeds of certain Rhaas Poppies of attractive 
colors, and have gradually worked up a consider- 
able number of charming varieties. There is a 
mottled section of great beauty that I have la- 
bored with for several years. It bears a large single 
flower, five and one-half inches in diameter, of a 
delicate rose color, mottled or veined with laven- 
der. Other shades embrace pure lavender, 
scarlet, rose, and dark ruby, some plants pro- 
ducing very double flowers. I mark with a tag 

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AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

a Poppy that is specially interesting, and keep its 
seed separate in the endeavor to perpetuate the 
strain. At first the flowers do not always come 
true from seed, and show undesirable variations. 
Such plants I promptly root out and have grad- 
ually been able to confirm the desired coloring. 
This is interesting work, and I know of no 
flowers that offer greater possibilities for im- 
provement than this section of the Poppy 
family. 

P. pavonium, or Peacock Poppy, is, I think, a 
distinct species from Central Asia. It bears a 
small single scarlet flower, with a black blotch 
at the base of the petal, and in appearance is not 
unlike the umbrosum. The capsule, or seed-pod, 
is, however, quite distinct, being almost round 
instead of egg-shaped, and is covered with bristles 
instead of being smooth. There is nothing es- 
pecially attractive about this Poppy, it being only 
interesting from a botanical point of view, as a 
distinct species. 

By far the most important acquisition of late 
years to this family is the Tulip Poppy from 
Armenia, P. g/aucum, a distinct species of great 
beauty. It scarcely exceeds a height of fifteen 
inches, and the delicate plant bears a profusion 

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ANNUALS 

of glowing scarlet flowers. The erect form of two 
of the petals, almost closing together at the tips, 
gives the blossom a tulip-like appearance. A bed 
of this Poppy, covered with its brilliant flowers, 
looks at a distance like a glowing mass of burn- 
ing coals. I know of no other shade of this 
Poppy, and I have never known it to cross with 
any variety of P. Rhteas, though I have had beds 
of the two species growing within a few feet of 
each other for several years. The seed-pod is 
much smaller than that of the Corn Poppy, and 
is short oblong in shape, the seed itself being 
smaller than that of any other species within my 
knowledge. 

None of the various species of annual Poppies 
can be easily transplanted, nor does there seem to 
be much advantage in attempting it. To secure 
early flowers you should plant the seeds in the 
fall where they are to grow. I have had some 
varieties of the Corn Poppy in bloom as early as 
June 13th from seeds planted in the fall, but 
they are at their best during the latter half of 
July. The Opium Poppies are somewhat later 
than the Corn Poppies, the double forms being the 
latest of all to bloom. Seeds may also be planted 
in early spring or even later, and from seeds 

199 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

sown about the first of July I have had a fresh 
bright mass of bloom in September. Like all 
small seeds, that of the Poppy should be simply 
scattered evenly upon the surface of the bed. If 
you are generous in your sowing the birds can 
get their share and you will still have enough to 
crowd the bed with plants. Any excess of plants 
must be weeded out to secure free blooming, and 
it will be found even more necessary to prevent 
overcrowding with the Opium Poppy than with 
its relative the Corn Poppy. 

Next after the Poppies should, in my estima- 
tion, come the Sweet Peas, Lathyrus odoratus. 
With this beautiful flower the preparation of the 
soil is a matter of prime importance. In the fall 
I clear off the space reserved for Sweet Peas, and 
spread over it roughly the dressing from the 
earth-closets, leaving it there on the surface for 
the winter. As early in the spring as the ground 
can be worked, I add a coating of unbleached 
wood ashes and bone-dust, with garden phos- 
phate, the whole being lightened with about an 
inch in depth of leaf mould. The soil is then 
thoroughly forked up, and the seeds are planted 
in drills, about five inches deep, at a distance 
apart of two inches. Thus far the result has 

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been most satisfactory, the vines having been 
uniformly large, sturdy, and full of bloom. 
Originally I built a trellis of poultry-wire net- 
ting four feet high, but it was totally inadequate 
for the service required, the vines growing quickly 
to the top and hanging down to the ground on 
the other side. I replaced it, therefore, with 
another ten feet in height, and the vines go to 
the top of this and still hang over. I have 
measured vines in the fall that exceeded twelve 
feet in length. It is stated that Sweet Peas do 
best in a position not exposed to the continuous 
rays of the sun, and my trellis fulfils this require- 
ment. At the same time I have a second row of 
Sweet Peas planted on the terrace close to the 
wall, where, with its southern exposure, the vines 
receive the direct rays of the sun, beating all day 
long against the rocks, yet, during the season of 
1900, which was remarkably warm and dry, the 
Sweet Peas were at their best in the more exposed 
situation, and they have uniformly done quite as 
well there as in the more protected position. 
Mr. Eckford recommends planting in clumps of 
two or three plants at a yard or more apart, as 
giving better results than planting in rows. All 
authorities unite in commending constant cutting 

201 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

of the flowers so that no seed can form, whereby 
continuous and increasing flowering will be in- 
sured. This precludes the possibility of your 
gathering your own seed, but this is of little 
moment, as perfectly satisfactory seeds can be 
purchased at a reasonable price, which will come 
true to the promised colors. The beds must be 
kept wet during blooming, and some mulching — 
that is, covering the surface of the ground with 
various light materials, such as leaf-mould or 
manure, to prevent the drying of the soil — is of 
advantage. A thorough wetting with manure 
water once a month would also be advantageous, 
and excite renewed growth and increased bloom 
to the vines. If the vines grow too rapidly, giv- 
ing comparatively little bloom, I clip off the tops 
and add wood ashes to the manure water. I 
have also at times added a handful of nitrate of 
soda to the watering-pot and thought it beneficial. 
The seedsmen have created something like two 
hundred varieties of Sweet Peas, by far the greater 
portion being merely a duplication of names for 
practically the same coloring, and twenty-five 
varieties would about cover all that are essentially 
different. As a decoration, a mass of Sweet Peas 
of the same coloring is far more beautiful than a 

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number of different colors, and therefore I prefer 
to plant a goodly number of seeds of a few choice 
varieties. I have more than once tried planting 
Mignonette or Shirley Poppies beside the Sweet 
Pea vines, and though the result as a whole was 
most attractive, covering up the bare ground, my 
experience is that the presence of any plants close 
to the vines retards their growth and lessens 
their production of flowers. 

There is a dwarf Sweet Pea highly commended 
by the growers, called the " Cupid," which I have 
tried for several successive seasons, but without 
any good results. It is possible that others may 
have succeeded with this new plant, but my ex- 
perience has been most discouraging. The seeds 
germinated and the plants bloomed, but the flow- 
ers were small and scanty. 

Salpiglossis sinuata is a Chilian plant, which was 
fully described a century or more ago, and yet, 
as an ornament to our gardens, it seems to be 
almost unknown. It resembles the Petunia 
somewhat in shape, but its colorings are the 
richest imaginable, and in texture appears as if 
made of the finest and silkiest of velvet. There 
are numerous colorings in the species, enabling 
the seedsmen to offer unnumbered named varie- 

203 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

ties. I would purchase none of them, as the 
mixed seeds alone will furnish abundant variety, 
and if you do get the " New Emperor " or the 
" Old Guard," you will wonder when they bloom 
wherein they differ from, or are in any wise better 
than hundreds of varieties in your mixed beds. 
It is said to be a half-hardy annual, but be that as 
it may, it grows well from seed sown in the open 
ground in early spring, and the seed will germi- 
nate and produce earlier flowers if sown in the fall. 
Whether all flower-lovers will agree with me 
or not, I can delay no longer in introducing our 
old and valued friend, the Nasturtium, of which 
there are three species in cultivation. Tropteolum 
majuSy the common Nasturtium, has two varie- 
ties, — the Climbing, and the Dwarf, or Tom 
Thumb Nasturtium. c t. minus is the smaller 
Nasturtium, properly so called, for its flowers are 
smaller than the common. It is offered by the 
seedsmen under the name of Trailing Nastur- 
tium, Tom Pouce. It is said to do better in 
poor soil than the majus species, but I have not 
tried it. We have also the well-known T. Lob- 
bianum, a climbing species from Colombia. It is 
easily distinguished from all other forms by the 
fact that it is hairy all over, excepting only the 

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petals and the upper side of the leaves. I use 
the Tom Thumb variety for Dwarf plants and 
the Lobb's Nasturtiums where I desire climbing 
or trailing plants. My two principal Nasturtium 
beds have been arranged around old stumps, in 
which the centre has been hollowed out and 
filled with earth. The earth has also been dug 
up about two feet wide around the base of the 
stumps, and both in the stump itself and in the 
ground about, I plant the Lobb's Nasturtium. 
I also use the same species in open spaces in the 
shrubbery border and in unoccupied parts of the 
rose beds. I plant in the spring about six inches 
apart, and an inch in depth, thinning out later to 
a foot apart. Nasturtiums are said to do well in 
poor soil and in partial shade. I have found 
them to do best in good soil, and they absolutely 
refuse to develop satisfactorily if planted too 
thickly or are too close to other plants. A 
bright-colored climbing nasturtium is a most 
beautiful ornament amongst the rosebushes, if 
allowed to climb at will over the branches. It 
does not attain a height sufficient to interfere with 
the roses until their period of bloom is about over. 
The Lobb's Nasturtium may be planted beside a 
trellis or a wall, in the ledges of the rocks, or on 

205 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

level ground, and I think it is most effective at 
the head of a grassy bank or a low terrace. Both 
varieties bloom from July 15th to frost. The 
seeds, if picked when green, make a delightful 
pickle, and the blossoms are a great addition to a 
dish of salad both from their brilliant colors and 
their pungent flavor. The seeds are easily 
gathered and may be picked from the vines when 
turned brown, or gathered from the ground after 
they have fallen. Apparently this is the ordinary 
way of gathering them by the professional seed- 
growers, judging from the proportion of small 
stones that are so often supplied in the packages. 
The seeds can be bought in separate colors at 
from fifteen to twenty-five cents per ounce. You 
can generally be reasonably assured of your 
flowers coming true to the stipulated colors, but 
now and then a plant will show a variation. The 
seeds cannot be planted in the fall in northern 
regions as their germinating power is destroyed 
by the frost. This must be taken account of in 
storing your seeds for the winter, and they must 
not be subjected to a very low temperature. It is 
said that the Nasturtium is easily propagated from 
cuttings in September, and may be kept under 
glass for the winter. I have not tried it, and it 

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hardly seems to me to be worth the labor, unless 
it be for the purpose of perpetuating with cer- 
tainty some new color. 

Lychnis Haageana, or Lamp Flower, one of the 
best of its group, is said to be a hybrid between L. 
grandiflora and L. fulgens. It grows two feet or 
more high, and is covered for several weeks with 
flowers varying in color from a brilliant scarlet to 
salmon, and light pink, shading to almost white, 
though the darker shades predominate. The 
flowers are two inches or more across. The seed 
is easily gathered, and may be sowed late in the 
fall or early spring, the latter being by far the 
best, as, though a true perennial, the plants will 
bloom the first year from spring-sown seed. The 
Lychnis is all the better for partial shade and a 
cool spot, and it will bloom from the ist of July 
to the 17th of August. 

The China, or India, Pinks, known as Dian- 
thus Chinensis, D. Sinensis, or D. Heddewigii, have 
a long list of named varieties, either in Latin or 
English, of single, double, or fringed forms. 
They are amongst the most beautiful of summer- 
blooming annuals, and will repay all the care 
bestowed upon them. They do best in dry, well- 
drained soils, and in such a position they are said 

207 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

to survive a moderate winter, but none have ever 
lived over winter on the island. I plant early in 
the spring where they are to bloom, and get 
flowers about the first of August, lasting until 
frost. They grow to a height of about one foot, 
though there is a dwarf variety which does not 
exceed six inches. A satisfactory bed can be 
secured from the mixed seeds of both single and 
double forms of what the dealers call D. Hedde- 
wigii. In named varieties I have had satisfactory 
results with Crown of Perfection, and Souv. de 
la Malmaison, amongst the double forms, and 
Eastern Queen, Salmon Queen, and Glare of 
the Garden, in the single flowers. 

Callistephus hortensis, or C. Chinensis, the China 
Aster, presents not a little variety in the forms 
of the blossoms, and the colors range from white, 
pink, rose, scarlet, carmine, lavender, and indigo- 
blue, to purple. Some varieties are but six inches 
high, while others exceed two feet. Probably 
the finest of the taller varieties is the Victoria, 
while amongst the dwarfer forms the Chrysan- 
themum-flowered is the best. The Queen 
of the Earlies, as its name indicates, is a 
specially early kind and valuable for that reason, 
though its range of color is but small. Other 

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varieties will appeal to special tastes. To insure 
success, Asters should have a deep rich soil, with 
an abundance of manure worked deep in the bed. 
In dry weather water must be freely supplied to 
the plants, and before the flowers begin to bloom 
a top dressing of well-rotted manure should be 
given them. To secure early bloom the seeds 
should be planted in a cold frame in April. I 
plant, however, in May in the beds where they 
are to grow, and weed out the larger sorts so that 
they stand fully a foot apart. They bloom from 
August 15th to frost, the Queen of the Earlies 
being about a fortnight in advance of the other 
varieties. 

Centaurea moschata, or Amberboa moschata, A. 
odorata, or Sweet Sultan, is a beautiful flower for 
the garden, is fine for decorative purposes, and lasts 
a long time after being cut. I have worn a speci- 
men in my buttonhole for fully two days before 
the flower looked wilted. It comes in three 
colors, white, rosy-purple, and citron-yellow, the 
latter being also known as C. suaveolens. Some 
improvements have been made of late in the size 
of the flowers, and of course new names have 
been invented, such as C. imperialism C. Margarita, 
and C. chameleon. It grows about two feet high, 
14 209 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

the flowers being about three or four inches in 
diameter. The seed should be planted in the 
early spring where the plants are to grow, as they 
cannot be successfully transplanted. They are 
said to do well in a sunny location, but in my 
experience they have done better in partial shade. 
The "Mammoth-flowering" varieties have blos- 
soms quite as large as the old forms, though the 
price of the seeds is much larger and finer. 

Reseda odorata,the Mignonette, is grown for the 
delicious scent of its small inconspicuous flowers. 
It is a native of northern Africa, and is called 
hardy, though its seed will not survive the winters 
of Maine, but must be sown in the early spring. 
It grows well in either sunshine or partial shade, 
and prefers a light sandy soil. I always sow the 
seed where it is to bloom, never attempting to 
transplant. The seeds of many varieties are 
offered for sale under special names, but the best 
in my experience is Machet's Perfection, which 
is a strong vigorous plant, well branched, and 
bearing large heads of flowers of an intense per- 
fume. It blooms on the island from August ist 
to September 20th. 

Cosmos bipinnatus comes from Mexico, growing 
nearly seven feet high and blooming profusely 

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from early in October until cut down by frost. 
The flowers are attractive, and the foliage is 
highly ornamental. Unfortunately its late bloom- 
ing renders it an impossible plant for northern 
Maine, but the development of an early-flowering 
variety has practically added a new flower to 
northern gardens, as it is in full bloom in early 
August, continuing into October. It is dwarfer 
than the old form, hardly exceeding four feet in 
height, and it bears numerous flowers in white, 
crimson, and pink. The seed, which is scarcely 
more than half the size of the old form, should 
be planted in early spring in the place where the 
plants are to grow. It does well in the sun, and 
likes a rich moist soil, but, owing to its height, it 
should, if possible, be planted where it will be in 
some measure protected from heavy winds. 

The genus Coreopsis, besides the perennial 
species already referred to, furnishes several choice 
annuals. It is curious to note that the seeds- 
men almost invariably use the name Calliopsis for 
the genus when referring to the annual species, 
and yet place the perennials under the proper 
name, Coreopsis. The annual species generally 
cultivated are as follows : C. tinctoria, in which the 
lower half, or sometimes almost the whole of the 

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AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

rays, are crimson brown, the tips being orange 
yellow. When the whole of the flower is crimson 
brown, it is called C. atrosanguinea, C. atropurpurea y 
or C. nigra speciosa. C. Drummondii, or Golden 
Wave, has golden yellow flowers with a small 
dark spot at the base of the petal. C. coronata 
has a yellow flower with a darker purplish-streaked 
spot near the base. On the island these flowers 
uniformly reach a height of four feet, and are 
profuse bloomers. I prefer the darker varieties 
of C. tinctoria, and always gather my own seeds, 
planting late in the fall. The seeds are small and 
need only be scattered broadcast on the bed. 
The Coreopsis likes good rich soil and plenty of 
sunshine, blooming from July 18th to frost. 

Gray classes the Mayweed under the genus 
Anthemis, but others group the seventy-odd 
species in the genus Matricaria. All the 
species are natives of Europe, Africa, and west- 
ern Asia, and all are weeds with the exception 
only of Matricaria inodora plenissima> or Anthemis 
chamomilla flor pleno, as other botanists call it. 
The seedsmen, possibly from a desire to save 
this flower from the humiliation of acknowl- 
edging its host of poor relations, have in the 
kindness of their hearts followed the lead of 

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Linnaeus and christened it with the more aristo- 
cratic name of Chrysanthemum inodorum plenissi- 
mum, which certainly ought to satisfy any flower, 
however ambitious he may be. I remember on 
one occasion, when driving through the hills 
of Maine, I saw a little goldfinch with his 
golden-yellow and black plumage flying in and 
out amongst the bushes by the roadside. 

"What do you call that bird ? " I asked of the 
native driver. 

Looking at it critically for a moment, he re- 
plied serenely, "We call that a little red-bird." 

Once a farmer landed his boat at the island 
wharf and carefully deposited a covered pail on 
the platform. I greeted him with a " Good- 
evening, Haines; what have you got there ? " 

" Plums," was the laconic answer. 

" Plums ! " I said in surprise, adding, " I 'm 
glad of that," as I tore off the covering, when 
I exclaimed with still greater surprise, " Why, 
these are strawberries ! " 

" Yes," said Haines, complacently, " we call 
'em plums." 

There is a dwarf tree in northern Maine which 
bears in the fall a minute red plum, and the na- 
tives all call it a "sugar pear." Now, if any one 

213 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

can tell me why these good people call a yellow 
bird red, a plum a pear, and a strawberry a 
plum, we may possibly be able to guess why 
the seedsmen call a species of Mayweed a 
Chrysanthemum. 

Notwithstanding its humble origin, Matricaria 
inodora flor pleno or plenissima, as I think, it ought to 
be called, is a very desirable plant for the border. 
It is perfectly hardy, has attractive, feathery foli- 
age, blooms the first year from seed, and repro- 
duces itself bountifully by self-sowing. It excels 
any flower I know of in its free blooming quali- 
ties. If given good soil, not too rich, and plenty 
of room, it will form into a compact recumbent 
plant, three feet in diameter and fifteen inches 
high. One such plant that I grew from seed 
had, by actual count, over five hundred flowers 
in bloom upon it at one time. The flower is 
white, about two inches in diameter, and at its 
best is intensely double. The plant shows a 
strong tendency to go back to single or semi- 
double forms, and if you would retain the best 
variety you should root out the undesirable 
plants and permit only the choicer double forms 
to cast their seeds. The best of the blossoms 
should be marked, and seeds collected from 

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them alone. You will not find it troublesome 
to gather all the seeds you will need. I always 
sow the seed in the fall, and thereby get flowers 
by the first week in July, in the following sum- 
mer, which last until frost. 

There are two species of annual Larkspurs, 
— Delphinium Ajacis, the Rocket Larkspur, and 
D. consolida, the Branching Larkspur. The 
former embraces three varieties commonly grown 
in gardens, of which D. majus, the Tall Rocket 
Larkspur, grows to a height of fully five feet, 
the flowers being double, on a long spike. The 
colors include white, flesh-colored, rose, violet, 
and ruby. D. minus is the Dwarf Rocket 
Larkspur, which grows about two feet high, 
and in addition to the colors of the taller vari- 
ety, we have pale blues, and some striped speci- 
mens. The Stock-flowered is also a desirable 
variety of Rocket, said to be worth cultivating, 
but I have not tried it. In Branching Lark- 
spurs we have Candelabrum, and Imperialism or 
the Emperor, in various colors, from white to 
dark blue and red, some varieties being varie- 
gated. None of the Branching Larkspurs ex- 
ceed three feet in height, and generally range 
from one and a half to two feet. The seeds 

215 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

are easily collected, and should be sown in the 
fall to insure early blooming. I sow broadcast 
on a finely raked bed, and after sowing, work 
the back of the rake lightly over the soil so as 
to settle the seeds a little below the surface. I 
do not sow the different colors in separate beds, 
but prefer to let the mass show all its variety 
of shade, and indeed, if a Shirley Poppy strays 
into the bed, as is apt to be the case, for the 
Shirlies live just next door, I never disturb it, 
but let its little pink and white face peep out 
from between a pair of the long legs of the blue- 
capped Larkspurs. It blooms from July 5th to 
August 1 2th from fall-sown seeds. 

The annual Phlox of our gardens comes from 
Phlox Drummondii, which was first found in Texas. 
By cultivation, the coloring and even the shape 
of the flower has been varied to a remarkable 
degree. There are several colorings in a double 
form which I do not care to raise ; the single 
flowers being to my mind much handsomer, as 
they are at the same time much larger. Where 
a flower shows but a single shade, it may possibly 
be improved by doubling, but where, as is so often 
the case with most of the Poppies and so many 
others of our annuals, the beauty of the blossom 

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is due largely to the delicate shading of many 
colors in the broad, flat petals, to double it is to 
deprive it of the most of its charm, as you end 
by concealing all of the various shadings, save 
only that of the outer edge of the petals. These 
flowers may be planted in the shrubbery border, 
but I always devote at least two large beds to 
their service, preferring to see this beautiful flower 
in masses, showing at once all its marvellous 
variations of color and form. I plant the seed in 
the spring where it is to bloom, as early as the 
soil is dry enough to be worked. I give the 
Phlox a sunny exposure and a rich moist soil, 
topped off with leaf-mould after the plants are up 
above the ground. It blooms on the island from 
August ioth until cut down by frost. 

Centaurea cyanus, the Cornflower, Blue- 
bottle, Bluet, Kaiser-Blumen, Corn-Bottle, 
Ragged Sailor, or Bachelor's Button, was 
the favorite flower of the late Emperor William, 
as it has been, and is now, the favorite of many 
thousands of less-known people. I wish to note 
that the name Bachelor's Button is applied to 
several other species of flowers ; and among them 
may be named Gomphrena globosa, or Globe 
Amaranth ; Ranunculus acris, and Polygala lutea> 

217 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

the latter having the word " yellow " prefixed to 
the name. But the name applies to still another 
species, it appears, not so far noticed in any of the 
books. Two charming young ladies of my 
acquaintance were on one occasion going to a 
college base-ball game, and at the last moment 
found that no provision had been made for 
flowers to show their loyalty to old Yale. A 
corsage of dark-blue flowers they must have, and 
ringing for a messenger-boy, they instructed him 
to purchase for them two dollars' worth of" Bache- 
lor's Buttons." The boy v/as gone an uncon- 
scionable long time, and the young ladies were 
almost in despair, when at the last moment he 
appeared bearing the longed-for package. It 
looked odd in shape and size, however, and they 
opened it with some misgiving. Their amazement 
may be imagined when they found therein only 
a number of small boxes containing those patent 
buttons which may be fastened upon shoes or 
trousers without the aid of needle or thread. 

Originally, bearing a single dark blue flower, 
many other colors of the Cornflower have been 
produced by selection, and we can now obtain 
white, rose, light blue, and dark purple, with 
varieties striped and mottled, and also double 

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forms of some of these colors. Though many 
of these new shades are attractive, I confess to a 
prejudice in favor of the old-fashioned dark blue. 
The Cornflower is easy of cultivation, and will 
do well in almost any situation, but it requires 
room above all things else, and the plants cannot 
do their best if crowded for space. The seeds 
are a little tedious to gather as well as to clean, 
much of the chaff being of the same size as the 
seed. The pods should be picked just as they 
are ready to open out, and you will find the 
largest number in this condition after a day or 
two of cloudy weather, as the pods do not ex- 
pand and drop their seed excepting under the 
influence of a hot sun. If you desire to keep 
colors separate, you should mark your plants, 
but this will not be necessary if you begin gather- 
ing early, as the flowering period is long, extending 
on the island from July 14th till frost, and you 
will be able to get plenty of seeds for your beds 
while the plants are still blooming. I invariably 
plant my seeds in the fall, thereby getting much 
stronger plants and several weeks of extra bloom. 
The plant casts its own seeds, and it will fill with 
its plants all vacant places in its neighborhood. 
It may be transplanted, but this weakens the 

219 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

plant and delays its blooming, and so I scatter 
the seed in the fall wherever I think I may 
possibly want a plant, and if I change my mind 
in the spring, it is easy to pull out what I do not 
want. 

Calendula officinalis, or Pot Marigold, is in 
many ways a most desirable plant. It is easy 
of cultivation, perfectly hardy, a free bloomer, 
and flowers on the island from July 25th to 
frost. Its blossoms are large, showy, and not 
ungraceful. It grows to a height of eighteen 
inches, and does well in many situations, though 
it seems to require a good soil, plenty of room, 
and a warm sunny position to produce the best 
results. There are a number of varieties, all of 
them attractive. Lemon yellow, golden yellow 
with maroon centre, yellow striped with orange, 
orange, and sulphur yellow striped with white, 
are the usual shades. The seed is easy to gather, 
and large quantities may be obtained with little 
trouble. With this flower, as with so many 
others, it is wise to mark choice blossoms, and 
to use the seed from them alone. One instructor 
advises us to " sow in boxes early, or in open 
ground in May or June ; transplant to one foot 
apart." I advise you not to sow in boxes, nor 

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ever in May or June, and under no circum- 
stances to transplant. Seeds sown in the fall will 
germinate freely in spring, and produce earlier 
flowers and sturdier plants than you can get in 
any other way. In planting, scatter your seed 
broadcast evenly over the bed, and then work 
the soil lightly over them with the back of the 
rake. If some of the seeds are obstinate, and 
refuse to be covered in this way, you may press 
them under the surface with the finger-tip. The 
seeds will do better, if after all this you press the 
soil down lightly with the palm of the hand or a 
suitable board. 

The genus T'agetes furnishes three species of 
Marigolds, — c t. erecta, the African; T.patula, 
the French ; and T. signata, the Dwarf Mar- 
igold. All are natives of Mexico and South 
America. The African Marigold is the tall- 
est of the genus, growing to a height of fully 
thirty inches, and bearing the largest flowers, 
some double varieties showing blossoms over 
four inches in diameter. The range of color is 
not extensive, embracing only a deep orange 
and a pale yellow. The flowers are both single 
and double ; but seed from the latter, though 
carefully selected, is apt to produce a considerable 

221 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

proportion of single flowers. One of the best of 
the large flowering class is known as Pride of 
the Garden, or Delight of the Garden, as 
the dealer prefers. 

The French Marigold is somewhat dwarfer, 
rarely exceeding eighteen inches in height, its 
flowers displaying yellow, orange, and brownish 
shades, striped and mottled. A dwarf form of 
the French Marigold, T. patula nana^ is a com- 
pact plant from six to twelve inches high, very 
free flowering, with a dark, brown maroon or 
yellow blossom, single or double. The seed 
of this variety is sometimes offered under the 
name of Little Brownie, or Legion of Honor, 
Lilliput, or Tom Thumb. 

C T. signata resembles the French Marigold in 
some respects, but has smaller yellow-striped 
flowers and grows about fifteen inches high. A 
dwarfer form is T. signata pumila. 

I sow the seeds of all species of Marigolds in 
the open ground in spring, after the danger of 
frost is over, and in the bed where they are to 
bloom. The seed will not survive the cold of 
winter, and therefore cannot be planted in the 
fall. The plants are in full bloom by the first 
of September, continuing until cut down by frost. 

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If earlier bloom is desired, the plants must be 
started indoors. Both the African and French 
Marigolds do well in rich loam, but signata 
requires poor soil to produce the best effects in 
bloom. Owing to the late period of flowering, I 
have never been able to gather the seeds of the 
Marigold. However, I have had no difficulty in 
getting satisfactory results from seeds purchased 
from the dealers, with one exception, when no 
seeds at all out of full two ounces seemed to 
possess the power of germinating. 

It is a pity that the California Poppy was not 
discovered by a botanist bearing a more manage- 
able name than Eschscholtz, and it was a poet 
too, Adalbert von Chamisso, who was guilty of 
the atrocity of naming the genus Eschscholtzia 
in honor of its discoverer. Notwithstanding 
its abominable name, it is a beautiful and desir- 
able flower, a perennial in its native home, south- 
ern California, but in the north treated as an 
annual. It grows about fifteen inches high, and 
the type, E. Californka, bears a bright orange- 
yellow flower, darker at the centre and lighter at 
the extremities. There are a number of varieties, 
much confused, because much mixed in growing 
together. E. crocea is of a deep yellow or saffron 

223 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

shade ; E. crocea alba is white ; E. crocea mandarin 
has the inner side of the petals rich orange and 
the outer portion bright scarlet ; E. crocea rosea y 
intense carmine ; and E. crocea flor plena is semi- 
double. E. Douglasii or E. maritima is a variety 
bearing somewhat larger, pure yellow flowers, 
and E. aurantiaca, rich orange. The Golden 
West Eschscholtzia, as described by seedsmen, 
offered nothing new in the way of color, but it 
was stated that " the flowers of these new giants 
measure from four to six inches in diameter." The 
italics are not mine, but neither were the giants. 
I paid a large price for a very small package of 
seed, and had the pleasure of seeing the plants 
produce just the same-sized blossoms I had 
obtained from mixed seeds at twenty cents an 
ounce. From the Bush Eschscholtzia I got 
even less, for not a seed germinated. Except 
when dealing with choice novelties, such as these, 
the California Poppy is a very easy flower to 
raise. The seeds should be sown broadcast on 
the bed where they are to bloom, and then 
gently settled into the earth. I plant my seed 
invariably in the fall, sometimes as early as the 
first of September, though they appear to do as 
well if planted the latter part of the month. 

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Sow the seed generously, and if the plants crowd 
each other the following spring, weed them out. 
Never attempt to transplant. The Eschscholtzia 
does well in the sun and in a rich soil. Its 
bloom is at the best from June 20th to August 
1 st, but it continues to flower sparingly till 
frost. 

Alyssum maritimum, the well-known Sweet 
Alyssum, grows about nine inches high, and is 
covered from June 20th until frost with a luxu- 
riant mass of small white flowers. There are 
some dwarf varieties, — A . Benthami compactum, or 
Tom Thumb ; A . compactum erectum, or Little 
Gem, growing about six inches high ; and A. com- 
-pactum procumbens, or Carpet of Snow, which 
scarcely exceeds three inches. Much praise is de- 
voted to the Little Gem variety by the seedsmen, 
but with little justification, to my mind, the type 
being far superior to any of the varieties. Simply 
because a flower differs from the type is no rea- 
son for preferring it, and I feel quite sure that if 
the Little Gem were the type and A. maritimum 
the variation, the growers would become most 
enthusiastic over this wonderful improvement in 
a common flower. The cultivation of Sweet 
Alyssum is of the simplest. It should be sown 
is 225 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

in the fall where it is to grow, and after that it 
may be left practically alone and be permitted to 
look after itself, as it will seed itself annually for 
several years, and thrive, if the bed is kept free 
from weeds and given a dressing of manure in 
winter. Indeed, after it is once established in a 
bed, it persists in remaining there, although you 
may dig the soil up annually and plant other 
species therein. It looks well amongst the 
shrubbery, quickly covers bare spots on the 
border, and is altogether a most desirable little 
plant, being far superior to any of its perennial 
brethren. A light sandy soil is best suited to it, 
although it will grow well in almost any soil or 
in any situation. 

There are two species of annual Candytuft 
commonly grown in gardens, Iberis umbellata and 
/. amara var. coronaria. I. umbellata, the com- 
mon Candytuft, bears its flowers in flat clusters. 
It varies in height from eight inches to twelve, 
producing flowers of several shades, including 
white, rose, crimson, carmine, lilac, purple, and 
rose-cardinal. /. amara var. coronaria, or Rocket 
Candytuft, bears only white flowers in dense 
spike-like racemes. The taller sorts grow to a 
height of twelve or fifteen inches, and the seeds- 

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men's catalogues include such names as White 
Rocket, Giant White, Giant Snowflake, Em- 
press, Snow Queen, and Hyacinth-flowered, 
all being probably only different names for what 
is practically trie same flower. Dwarf varieties 
are Tom Thumb and the Little Prince, grow- 
ing from four to six inches high. I do not care 
for I. umbellata, and of the Rocket varieties I 
much prefer the large Giant-flowered or Em- 
press strain. It blooms from June 20th to 
frost, and its cultivation is the same as Sweet 
Alyssum, though the results are not always as 
satisfactory, the seed apparently not germinating 
as freely nor as certainly. 

Zinnia elegans, coming originally from Mexico, 
is a striking flower when grown in masses on the 
lawn. It comes double and single, but in 
the anxiety to produce striking double forms, 
the single blossoms have been almost lost sight 
of by the seedsmen. This is a pity, as when in 
a mixed lot of seed you sometimes get a large 
single flower of yellow, orange, scarlet, or crim- 
son, it is often more attractive than the double 
forms, though few of the dealers offer the seeds 
of single varieties. The colors of the double 
forms embrace white, sulphur-yellow, canary- 

227 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

yellow, orange, flesh, rose, carmine, scarlet, crim- 
son, violet, lilac, and purple, and there is also a 
striped form called Zebra, a cone-shaped speci- 
men known as the Pompon, and a Curled and 
Crested variety. In my experience but a small 
percentage of the colors come true from seed, 
and I find it quite as well to purchase the mixed 
seeds instead of the separate colors. A large 
flowering strain called Robusta plenissima, or Giant 
Mammoth, grows about three feet high, and is 
said to bear flowers five or six inches in diameter. 
It is an excellent variety, and I have grown it for 
several years, but I never yet saw a flower that 
approached the advertised size, although the soil 
and location were the best possible for growing 
Zinnias. There are some dwarf varieties also, 
among them being Double Liliput, Fairy 
Gem, and Miniature. The latter grows but 
four inches high, and is only a curiosity, the 
flowers being small. There are some attractive 
features about the other dwarf forms, as they are 
hardly as rank in growth as the type, and the 
flowers are fuller and richer. The Zinnia is a 
tender annual, and the seeds cannot be sown in 
the fall. It is the usual practice, I think, to sow 
them in boxes in March or April, and not to set 

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the plants out till June. Indeed, one authority 
recommends that transplanting to the open beds 
be delayed until the plants begin to bloom, when 
you can select the finest colors. I would not 
dream of following this advice, as I know of no 
flowers that are not injured more or less by at- 
tempting to transplant after the bloom has started. 
I sow my seed in the open ground, in shallow 
drills, the last week in May, and then weed out 
the young plants until they stand twelve inches 
or more apart. The bed should be rich, with 
plenty of bottom dressing, the soil fine, and 
situated in the brightest, sunniest corner of the 
garden. The plants should be watered freely in 
dry weather. The Zinnia blooms from July 
1 8th to frost on the island. 

There are several well-defined species of annual 
Sunflowers, but Helianthus annuus, and H. ar- 
gophyllus are said to be the parents of most of our 
garden varieties. The latter species comes from 
Texas, and is distinguished by its hoary-white 
foliage. H. debilis, uniformly called by the 
seedsmen cucumerifolius, is a dwarf variety not 
exceeding three feet in height, which bears nu- 
merous yellow flowers with a black disk, three 
inches in diameter. If given plenty of room, 

229 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

the plant becomes much branched, and is quite 
symmetrical. Stella, a variety of the last, is 
easily to be distinguished from it by the higher 
price of the seeds. H. variegatus grows about six 
feet high, bears a single yellow flower, and has its 
leaves striped and blotched with yellow. H. Cali- 
fornicus grows six feet high, and is one of the best 
of the double sunflowers, the petals being of a 
rich orange shade. H. globosus fistulosus is also 
six feet high, with double saffron flowers. H. 
Peruvianas has double orange flowers, striped 
black. H. nanus flor pleno, or Globe of Gold, is 
a dwarf plant four feet high, with very double 
flowers of golden yellow. H. sulphurus, or 
Sulphur Gem, is a well-branched plant, bear- 
ing single sulphur-yellow flowers with a black 
centre. It continues in bloom until frost and 
is a desirable variety. H. multiflorus^ or Thou- 
sand-flowered, is a tall variety which bears 
numbers of golden-yellow flowers with small 
black centres. H. macrophyllus giganteus is a 
branching pyramidal-shaped plant, six feet high 
with yellow flowers. The Giant, or Mammoth 
Russian, bears immense single heads of flowers, 
and is said to be cultivated frequently for its 
seeds, which are used as chicken feed, but my 

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chickens never would have anything to do with 
them. As an ornament on the lawn, and cer- 
tainly for decorative purposes, I prefer the dwarf 
H. cucumerifolius to any other variety. All va- 
rieties do best in a rich soil, and require plenty 
of moisture. The seeds are easy to gather and 
may be planted in either fall or spring, the fall- 
sown plants flowering about July 15th, while 
those from spring planting do not bloom before 
August 1 st on the island. 

Layia elegans is a hardy annual from Cali- 
fornia. It is a dwarf plant, scarcely exceeding 
ten inches in height, and bears profusely, all 
summer, very attractive single flowers, about an 
inch and a half in diameter, the lower half being 
a canary yellow, and the edges margined with 
white. It is attractive from the prodigality of 
its bloom, and is easily cultivated, as it grows 
well in any ordinary garden soil. The seed may 
be sown in the fall or spring, but I always sow in 
September, thereby getting bloom from July 12th 
to frost. There are probably a dozen species or 
varieties of Layia, but elegans is said to be the 
best. 

Nicotiana alata, or N. affinis, is a half-hardy 
annual which grows to a height of three or four 

231 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

feet, and bears from August ist to frost a con- 
stant succession of white flowers, nearly five 
inches long, which appear at dusk, and are then 
very fragrant. There is said to be a still taller 
variety called Giant Red, which grows to a 
height of five feet and bears from July until 
frost immense clusters of rich crimson flowers. I 
am not yet able to confirm this statement, for 
although I have bought the seeds annually for 
several years, and planted them with the utmost 
care, I have yet to see a single crimson flower. 
N. alata does best in rich soil and in a somewhat 
sheltered position. Some twenty-five feet west- 
ward of the bed I use for them is a fringe of tall 
trees which shelters them from the afternoon's 
sun, and induces the blossoms to expand earlier in 
the day than common. They look well growing 
with other plants, and I sometimes lay a carpet 
of Sweet Alyssum at their feet which does not 
appear to interfere with their growth or bloom- 
ing. Some authorities recommend sowing the 
seed as early as February in a warm house, and 
transplanting to the open ground the last of 
May. I have had very satisfactory results, how- 
ever, by sowing my seed broadcast in September 
where the plants are to grow, and have had stout 

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ANNUALS 

hardy plants as a result, which bloomed earlier 
than those from spring-planted seed. If the 
plants are left alone they will seed themselves 
almost as freely as Sweet Alyssum. 

The Crucifer^e, or Mustard Family, which 
includes Alyssum, Candytuft, Wallflower, 
and Rocket, has also given us the Stocks, Mat- 
thiola. There are two species, M. incana, the 
common Stock, a perennial or biennial, which is 
the source of the Brompton and Queen Stock, 
and M. annua from which the Ten Weeks and 
Intermediate Stocks have been derived. Some 
authorities make a third species M. sinuata, and 
refer to it the Intermediate section. Doubt- 
less in a milder climate the Ten Weeks Stock 
would be placed far higher on such a list as this, 
but as I am making my record from personal 
experience alone, and can report only a moderate 
success with this flower, I could not give it a 
higher place than I have. The Ten Weeks 
Stock we are told has been vastly improved 
from the old Gilliflower type, and is a half- 
hardy annual, bearing double or single fragrant 
flowers. The varieties may be divided into tall, 
dwarf, and pyramidal. The tall varieties grow 
to a height of two and a half feet, while the 

233 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

dwarfer, larger flowering plants are about one foot 
high. The dwarfer varieties are the favorites 
generally among growers, the range of color 
being large, and embracing white, canary-yellow, 
pink, rose, scarlet, crimson, blood-red, copper, 
light blue, violet, lavender, and purple. There 
are indeed few flowers in cultivation offering a 
wider range of color. A still dwarfer strain is 
the Snowflake, a double white flower, on which 
the Dwarf White Pyramid is said to be an 
improvement. The miniature Pearl is also 
white and does not exceed six inches in height. 
The Pyramidal form is probably the best of 
them all, and is certainly so in my experience. 
The plants are neat and compact in habit, while 
the flowers are large, furnishing all the well- 
known colors of the species. The seed is usually 
planted indoors in April, and the plants set out 
in the garden after danger from frost is past. I 
have uniformly planted in the open ground in 
May, and therefore do not get as early flowers as 
I might by the former method. The Interme- 
diate species are too late in their blooming 
period to be grown successfully in northern 
Maine, and the biennials are not hardy enough to 
stand the cold of our winters. 

234 



ANNUALS 

Still another member of the Mustard Family- 
claims our attention, Cheiranthus cheiri, or the 
Wallflower. It is a perennial, and is not 
hardy enough to stand our winters, but a variety 
has been lately introduced which blooms the first 
year from seed. It bears single, cinnamon-col- 
ored flowers during August and September, from 
spring-sown seed, and is a desirable acquisition. 

I feel quite sure that Portulaca grandiflora, the 
Rose Moss, ought to be much higher up the list 
than this, and it would be if I consulted only my 
personal preferences. To me this hardy, free- 
blooming little plant is a delight. It is a native 
of South America, and grows about six inches 
high, densely covering a space of ground fully 
eighteen inches in diameter. Its flowers are 
either double or single, the former being possibly 
the handsomer if you consider only the individ- 
ual blossoms, but the single form makes up for 
this by giving us two or three flowers for every 
one of the double. Its range of color is large, 
and we have, in both single and double forms, a 
profusion of white, straw, sulphur-yellow, yellow- 
striped crimson, orange, salmon, rose, rose with 
carmine stripes, scarlet, and purple flowers. It 
thrives in a rich, light, sandy soil, when it gets 

235 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

plenty of sunshine, and a summer drought, how- 
ever prolonged, never affects the brightness of its 
foliage nor the brilliancy of its bloom. The seed 
may be sown in either spring or fall, but I never 
had Portulaca in perfection until I let it alone 
and permitted it to seed itself. Since then I 
have always planted the seed in the fall, with re- 
sults uniformly satisfactory. It is easily trans- 
planted, and may be reproduced from cuttings 
which quickly take root. It seems to me that 
Portulaca is not at its best when planted alone. 
I had a bed of Sweet Alyssum and Portulaca 
growing together that delighted me every time I 
looked at it. At a distance one saw only the 
massed white of the Alyssum, but closer by one 
could peer into the bank of snow, and discern the 
brilliant colors of the Portulaca beneath. This 
makes a good combination, as both plants seed 
themselves. I have it also growing on a sunny 
bank amidst the Aquilegas. As the Columbines 
begin to lose their bloom, the Portulaca blos- 
soms out and keeps the bank brilliant for the 
rest of the season. It is a great labor-saver, too, 
for once Portulaca establishes itself on a spot, 
few of our ordinary weeds have any chance in 
competition with it for space. In buying the 

236 



ANNUALS 

seeds you will have to pay eight or ten times as 
much for seeds of double flowers as you will be 
asked for single varieties. Only a portion of the 
flowers, however, will be double, even if you do 
buy the double seeds, while if you get single seeds, 
you will have some double flowers, if you enrich the 
soil abouttheplantswhen they are a couple of inches 
high. If you wish to have a bed all single or all 
double, you can gradually secure this by transplant- 
ing and setting out cuttings in place of the plants 
taken away. I never buy the seeds of separate 
colors, for they are not only very expensive, but, to 
my taste, useless, as the bed is much finer contain- 
ing all the varieties, and in any event only a small 
percentage of the seeds will ever come true to color. 
Linum grandiflorum^ L. coccineum^ L. rubrum, 
Red or Scarlet Flax, is a half-hardy perennial 
from north Africa, which blooms the first year 
from seed, and therefore may be treated as an 
annual. It grows one foot high, and bears bright 
crimson-red flowers, one inch in diameter. Its 
foliage is fine, and the delicate stems bearing the 
bright flowers make it an attractive object in the 
bed. It likes plenty of sunshine, and blooms 
from July 18 th to frost, and earlier flowers may 
be obtained by sowing the seed in the fall. 

237 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

Bracyhcome iberidifolia, or Swan River Daisy, 
is a rather attractive half-hardy annual from Aus- 
tralia, of easy cultivation. It grows eight or nine 
inches high, bearing light blue flowers, with a 
paler centre, about one inch across. In shape 
the flower is not unlike the Cineraria, and in 
cultivation produces other shades of blue as well 
as a variety in pure white. I have always planted 
the seeds in early spring, though I still hope to 
get a strain that may be planted in the fall and 
survive the winter. 

I cannot understand the almost entire neglect 
of Asperula orientalis, or A. azurea setosa, as it has 
many points of excellence to commend it to the 
flower lover ; yet few seedsmen notice it at all, 
and those who do dismiss it with a line. It 
grows twelve or fifteen inches high, has long, 
slender stems, surmounted with clusters of small 
blue flowers, which are delicately scented. It is 
perfectly hardy, and blooms all summer from 
spring-sown seed. You can, however, get stur- 
dier plants and earlier bloom, by sowing the 
seed in the fall. The seeds are not troublesome 
to gather, and if you do not disturb the plants 
they will sow their own seeds. 

Ipomaa purpurea, Convolvulus majus y C. pur- 
238 



ANNUALS 

pureus y or Pharbitis hispida, the common, well- 
known Morning Glory, though a half-hardy 
annual from tropical America, will succeed in the 
open ground in northern Maine, but it is not 
apparently well suited to this region, as it never 
grows there with the luxuriance commonly seen 
in more southern localities. I have always 
planted my seeds in the open ground in May, 
and doubtless would succeed better if the plants 
were started under cover a month or so earlier, 
but I hardly care to do it. The seeds will ger- 
minate earlier if soaked in warm water for a 
couple of hours before planting. I have tried 
persistently the widely advertised Imperial Jap- 
anese Morning Glories, giving them the best 
possible position and soil, and carefully tending 
them. The flowers were of charming colorings, 
but I got no blossoms that would measure more 
than two inches across, instead of the four or five 
inches promised by the seedsmen. There is also 
a dwarf form, not a climber at all, which I have 
tried and care nothing for. 

Chrysanthemum coronarium, or Anthemis corona- 
ria, the Summer Chrysanthemum, or Crown 
Daisy, is a hardy annual growing a foot or more 
high. It is a native of southern Europe and 

239 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

northern Africa, and in its wild form it bears a 
single pale yellow or buff flower. In cultivation 
it also produces a white form. Its seeds should 
be planted in the fall, or if left alone it will seed 
itself. 

C. carinatum, or Tricolor Chrysanthemum, 
is a native of northern Africa, bearing double 
white or yellow flowers. The variety Burridge- 
anum has showy rose-colored flowers with white 
edges. Another variety, Dunnetti, has double 
flowers in white, orange, yellow, or purple. This 
latter strain is quite attractive. C. carinatum 
is a tender perennial, but may be treated as a 
half-hardy annual, sowing the seed in the early 
spring. 

C. segetum, or Corn Marigold, is also a peren- 
nial that may be treated as a half-hardy annual. It 
bears a yellow flower, and the seeds may be sown 
in the fall. All these three species of Chry- 
santhemums thrive best in a rich soil and in a 
sunny position. 

Rudbeckia bicolor, the half-hardy annual Cone- 
flower, grows about two feet high, is branching 
in its habit, and bears bright attractive flowers 
on its long stems, the disc being blackish purple 
and the rays bright yellow with a brownish spot 

240 



ANNUALS 

at the base. It grows freely in any soil, begin- 
ning to bloom in July and continuing until cut 
down by frost. 

Gaillardia pulchella, or G.picta, is an annual from 
the southwestern portion of the United States. 
It is easy to grow from seed, but the flower so 
closely resembles the perennial G. grandiflora, and 
is so inferior, that, having the latter, it is hardly 
worth while to spend time or attention on the 
other. G. picta Lorenziana, on the other hand, 
is a double-flowering variety quite different in 
its appearance, but I confess its attractions were 
not sufficient to induce me to continue its 
cultivation. 

Scabiosa atropurpurea, or Sweet Scabious, is a 
hardy annual which, when its flowers are dark 
purple or crimson, is called Mourning Bride. 
Its colors vary from white through rose, scarlet, 
crimson, and lilac to a deep dark purple. It is 
either tall, about two and a half feet high, or 
dwarf, from one to one and a half feet, and the 
flowers are either single or double. In the rage 
for doubling, single forms of this flower like the 
Zinnia have almost disappeared from the seeds- 
man's collection, though, to my taste, the single 
flower is much more desirable than the stiff un- 
16 241 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

gainly double ones. I have always planted my 
seeds in the open ground in early spring with 
good results, and have not yet succeeded in get- 
ting the seeds to live over the winter from fall 
planting. 

Mirabilis Jalapa, Four-o'clock, or Marvel 
of Peru, is a perennial plant in a warm climate, 
but in northern regions it is treated as a half- 
hardy annual. It grows to a height of about 
three feet, bearing red, rose, crimson, white, lilac, 
purple, or variegated flowers, about one inch in 
diameter. It does best in the warm sunshine, 
and it can be propagated either by saving the 
roots in sand over the winter or more easily from 
seeds. The seeds are large, and can be gathered 
just as they are ready to drop, or from the ground 
beneath. 

The genus Amaranthus gives us some plants 
which are useful under certain circumstances. A. 
Henderi is a foliage plant growing two feet high, 
with drooping leaves of rosy carmine, orange, 
buff, golden yellow, and olive green. If planted 
in rich ground in bright sunshine and given 
plenty of room, it has a striking effect. A. tri- 
color, or Joseph's Coat, is a similar plant three 
feet high with leaves of red, yellow, and green. 

242 



ANNUALS 

A. caudatus, or Love-Lies-Bleeding, has long, 
dark red, drooping flower spikes, and is not an 
attractive plant to me. The best of the family- 
are coarse undesirable plants, except in certain 
situations. All are easily raised from seeds sown 
either in spring or fall. 

Gypsophilla ekgans, a variety of which is called 
Covent Garden, is an annual having some of 
the virtues of its perennial relative, G. paniculata. 
If you have the latter well established, it is not 
worth while to plant the annual species, which, 
however, is easily grown from seed, and prefers a 
dry, sunny situation. 

Abronia umbellata is a tender trailing perennial 
from California, with rosy purple, fragrant flowers 
in clusters. It is rather attractive, easy to grow, 
and thrives in a dry soil, or in the crevices of the 
rocks in a sunny situation. It may be treated as 
a hardy annual, and will seed itself, or the seeds 
may be sown in the fall. 

Godetia grandiflora^ or G. Whitneyi^ is a western 
American flower of some interest. It grows from 
one to two feet high, bearing numerous flowers, 
two inches or more in diameter, in shades of 
pink, rose, blood red, or white mottled and 
striped with red. The double-flowered rose 

243 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

variety is attractive. It is easily raised from 
spring-sown seed. 

Rhodanthe maculata, or Everlasting, is a half- 
hardy annual from Australia, about one foot high, 
bearing white, pink, or crimson flowers, which are 
especially remarkable for the length of time the 
bloom lasts after being cut. They retain their 
color and shape if dried and hence are ranged 
with the Everlastings. They are easily raised 
from seed sown in the spring, and bloom early 
and continuously until frost. 

Schizanthus pinnatus is nearly related to Salpi- 
glossisy and is an attractive flower, being like its 
relative also from Chili. It grows about one and 
a half feet high, bearing rosy purple or yellow 
blossoms, freely mottled, and about one inch in 
diameter. The seeds may be sown in either 
spring or fall, but the latter time is much the best. 
It thrives in a rich, light, sandy soil. 

Clarkia elegans is a hardy annual from Califor- 
nia, of which I know only enough to say that it 
is attractive, and suited to our climate. It does 
well in the sun and also in partial shade. The 
plant is two feet high, well branched, with long 
racemes of double purple, rose, or salmon flowers. 
The seeds should be sown in the fall where the 

244 



ANNUALS 

plants are to bloom, and in rather moist soil, not 
too rich or fine. 

I have raised Cleome grandis, Hibiscus Africanus, 
and Specularia Speculum, or Venus' Looking- 
glass, and having done so once am not tempted 
to do so again. 



245 



CHAPTER VIII 

SEEDS 
** Here 's a state of things! Here f s a pretty state of things /" 

UNDER each species of flowers described, 
I have said something about the plant- 
ing and gathering of the seeds, but I 
wish to say here some further words upon the 
general subject. 

In nature a flower when its seeds are ripened 
drops them upon the soil, where they germinate 
at the opening of another season, and from them 
plants spring up which in turn bloom and again 
produce seed. Under ordinary circumstances, 
then, the proper time to plant all seed would be 
in the fall, as nature plants them ; and this rule 
would be invariable if all the flowers we attempted 
to grow were natives of the same sort of climate 
that we have in our own gardens. But the bota- 
nist has brought flowers to us from all over the 
world, and we are attempting to grow plants 

246 



SEEDS 

which are natives of Iceland or Africa, Siberia or 
Australia, Alaska or Mexico, introducing many 
species to a climate quite different from their 
original environment. As a consequence we are 
compelled to treat varied species in a different 
manner, so as to induce them to live and thrive 
under new and strange conditions. We find by 
experience that the seeds of some plants, coming 
from tropical regions, are too tender to stand the 
cold of our winters, and if subjected to it they 
perish, losing all power of germination. 

It will, therefore, I think be a convenience to 
the growers of flowers if I give here these three 
lists: i. Annuals that should be planted in the 
fall ; 2. Annuals which may possibly be planted 
in the fall; and, 3. Annuals which should be 
planted only in the spring. As I have said 
elsewhere, this information applies to a very cold 
northern climate, and the farther south we go 
the more species will we be able to take from the 
second and third of these lists to add to the first. 

1. Annuals that should be planted in the 
Fall. 

Abronia umbellata. 

Alyssum maritimum, Sweet Alyssum. 

247 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

Amaranthus Henderi. 

" tricolor, Joseph's Coat. 

" caudatus, Love-Lies-Bleeding. 

Asperula orientalis. 

Calendula officinalis, Pot Marigold. 
Centaurea cyanus, Cornflower. 
Chrysanthemum coronarium, Summer Chrysanthemum, 

or Crown Daisy. 
Chrysanthemum segetum, Corn Marigold. 
Clarkia elegans. 
Coreopsis tinctoria. 
" Drummondii. 
" corona ta. 
Delphinium Ajacis, Rocket Larkspur. 

" consolida, Branched Larkspur. 

Eschscholtzia Californica, California Poppy. 
Helianthus annuus, Sunflower. 

" argophyllus, Silver-leaved Sunflower. 
Iberis umbellata, Candytuft. 

" amara, Rocket Candytuft. 
Lathyrus odoratus, Sweet Pea. 
Layia elegans. 

Linum grandiflorum, Red or Scarlet Flax. 
Matricaria inodora plenissima [Chrysanthemum inodorum). 
Nicotiana a lata. 

Papaver Rhaas, Corn Poppy of Europe. 
" somniferum, Opium Poppy. 
" pavonium, Peacock Poppy. 
" glaucum, Tulip Poppy. 
Portulaca grandiflora, Rose Moss. 
Salpiglossis sinuata. 

248 



SEEDS 

i. Annuals which may possibly be planted 
in the Fall. 

Brachycome iberidifolia, Swan River Daisy. 
Centaurea moschata, Sweet Sultan. 
Dianthus Chinensis, China Pinks. 
Godetia grandijiora. 
Schizanthus pinnatus. 

3. Annuals which should be planted only 
in the Spring. 

Callistepbus hortensis, China Aster. 

Cheiranthus Cheiri, Wallflower. *\ 

Chrysanthemum carinatum, Tricolor Crysanthemum. 

Cosmos bipinnatus. 

Gaillardia pulchella. 

Gypsophilla elegans. 

Ipomcea purpurea, Morning Glory. 

Matthiola annua, Ten-Weeks Stock. 

" sinuata, Intermediate Stock. 
Mirabilis Jalapa, Four o'clock, or Marvel of Peru. 
Phlox Drummondii. 
Reseda odorata, Mignonette. 
Rhodanthe maculata, Everlasting. 
Rudbeckia bicolor, Annual Cone-flower. 
Tagetes erecta, African Marigold. 

" patula, French Marigold. 

" .r/g-wtfta, Dwarf Marigold. 
Tropaolum mzjus, Climbing, or Tom Thumb Nastur- 
tium. 

249 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

Tropceolum minus, Smaller, or Tom Pouce Nastur- 
tium. 
Tropceolum Lobbianum, Lobb's Nasturtium. 

In planting flower seeds the first thing that has 
to be decided, of course, is the location of the bed. 
A flower that requires the bright sun will fail 
utterly if planted in the shade. A preacher once 
was telling his hearers that all men have special 
capacities, and therefore special duties, and that 
they never could develop properly if they refused 
to do that for which they were best fitted, and 
illustrated the idea by saying that that beautiful 
flower, the fuchsia, required a shady spot and 
would not thrive in the bright sunshine. While 
greeting the members of his congregation after 
service, one good woman warmed his heart by 
taking his hand in hers and saying with moistened 
eyes, " Oh, Doctor, you do not know how I en- 
joyed your sermon ! I never knew before what 
was the matter with my fuchsias." 

Having selected the spot, the soil is the next 
consideration, and it must be adapted to the par- 
ticular flower you wish to grow. I have attempted 
to give some instructions on this point when con- 
sidering the different species. When none are 
given, it may be understood that the plants do 

250 



SEEDS 

well in full sunlight or partial shade, and that the 
best soil for them is a moderately rich loam. 

I prefer to plant the seeds of all annuals where 
the flowers are to bloom. Some species cannot 
be transplanted at all, and it is injurious to all of 
them, as it takes most plants some days or even 
a couple of weeks to recover and get well rooted 
once more. Having prepared the bed, I sow 
very small seed, such as the Poppy, broad-cast, 
and then press the earth down with a board or 
the hand. A convenient board can be made 
for this work very easily by any one moderately 
skilled in carpentry. Take a half-inch pine 
board, about eighteen inches long by nine wide, 
and cut the corners off smoothly, so that it takes 
the form of an ellipse. On the centre of one side 
screw a wooden handle, and your "firmer" is 
ready. With seeds a little larger than the 
poppy, such as annual Larkspur or Eschscholtzia, 
after casting them evenly upon the bed, I go 
over the whole with the back of the rake, gently 
pulling a little earth over the seeds, and then 
pressing the whole down. Larger seeds still 
must be planted in drills, but caution must be 
exercised so as not to plant too deeply. More 
good seeds fail to germinate from this cause, 

251 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

probably, than from any other. A good gen- 
eral rule is to plant a seed no deeper than 
three times its diameter, and in following this 
rule, you will find that the lightest touch of 
the finger upon the soil in making the drill is 
sufficient for all but the largest seeds. Of 
course there are exceptions to this rule, and 
these I have pointed out under the different 
species. Thus the Nasturtium should be in the 
ground an inch, and the Sweet Pea fully five or 
six inches. 

Every lover of flowers should gather the seeds 
from his own plants, whenever possible. Only 
by so doing can he learn the life history of 
his plants, and only thus can he get the best 
seeds. The best seeds are those from the 
choicest flowers on the sturdiest plants, and 
such should be marked when in bloom. Suit- 
able tags are easily made, or they can be bought 
ready wired at the seedstores, for about $1.50 
a thousand. I do not use an indelible pencil 
for this work, but simply ordinary lead, which 
will be decipherable for the brief time it is ex- 
posed to the weather, and later the marks can 
easily be removed with a simple piece of rub- 
ber, and thus the tag can be used again and 

252 



SEEDS 

again. If the plants in a bed are all of the same 
variety and color, and you wish only to mark 
choice blossoms, a bit of colored worsted tied about 
the stem will serve all the purposes of a tag. 

When you come to gather your seeds, you will 
need a quantity of paper bags of at least three 
sizes, small, medium, and large. Bags are made 
for this particular purpose without any gum 
on the flap. Do not buy the envelopes made 
for holding coins, for they are sometimes not 
thoroughly tight, and are apt to come apart if 
the seeds are slightly damp. 

When you have a number of varieties of seeds 
to collect which you wish to keep separate, and 
can expect to get but a small quantity of each, 
you will find it convenient to use these envelopes 
for the seed-pods. Always mark the name on 
the envelope before you drop in the first pod, 
and then you will not be trying to remember 
what particular plant it came from. Where you 
have larger quantities to collect of a particular 
flower, small tin boxes about five inches long, 
three broad, and two deep, will be found useful. 
Such boxes — which should have hinged lids, by 
the way — can be bought for a trifle, or you can 
use the tin boxes which once contained tobacco 

253 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

or cigarettes. A collection of the ordinary tin 
cracker-boxes, in different sizes, you will often 
find useful. Here, too, remember to mark your 
seeds promptly. Write the name on a slip of 
paper, and always drop it into the box before 
you put a pod therein. 

The best seeds of course are also those which 
are fully ripe. You will notice when the capsule 
has turned brown, and is just beginning to crack 
open, and this is the proper time to secure 
your seed. Taken earlier the seeds are not yet 
thoroughly dry, or even not quite ripe, and un- 
less given sunshine and fresh air are apt to 
mould and prove worthless. If you delay too 
long, you will find in many cases that the seeds 
are nearly or quite gone, and that you are gather- 
ing only empty pods. The best time to gather 
seeds is probably soon after a period of cloudy 
weather, when the sun has but just dried the 
pods off sufficiently, for then you will find 
many pods full of seed. You cannot easily 
dislodge small seeds from a damp pod, but 
when the pods are thoroughly dry you can 
shake them out with little trouble, and with- 
out the labor of dividing or crushing each in- 
dividual pod. 

254 



SEEDS 

To separate the seeds from the hulls and chaff, 
you will need sieves of various sizes. I bought, 
for a trifle, small pieces of woven wire cloth of 
ten different sizes, from one eighth of an inch mesh 
to the finest, and had a tinsmith remove the 
bottoms from as many old tin tobacco-boxes 
and substitute therefor the wire cloth. The 
hinged lids should be allowed to remain upon 
these boxes, as you will then be able to give 
the pods a good shaking to dislodge the seed. 
I numbered each box in rotation from the finest 
mesh to the coarsest. It may be necessary to 
pass the seeds through several sieves to clean 
them satisfactorily. First use one so large that 
all the seeds will pass through it, and thus get 
rid of the hulls and larger particles of chaff, and 
then use one so small that none of the seeds will 
go through, and the smaller waste will dis- 
appear. You should have at hand a good mag- 
nifying glass, that you may examine your seeds 
from time to time and become familiar with 
their appearance. By its use you will quickly 
learn to identify the perfect seed from the im- 
perfect, or from the powdered bits of the hull. 
Choice seeds I put through the sieves again and 
again, getting thereby possibly three grades of 

255 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

large, medium, and small seeds, all clean and 
all capable of germinating, but the larger giving 
promise of the better flowers, and these latter 
only do I use on my beds. With some seeds 
sieving alone will not serve to separate them from 
the chaff. This is the case with annual Coreop- 
sis amongst others, and here, having cleaned the 
seed as far as possible with the sieves, I place 
them in a shallow tin box and, blowing gently 
on the mass, easily dislodge the lighter chaff. 
This chaff, of course, does no real harm to 
the seeds, except that if kept for a time the 
chaff is more apt to gather moisture, sponge- 
like, and thus prove injurious, and also if you 
allow the chaff to remain it is quite possible 
that one portion of your bed may be sown 
with chaff alone. 

You will need a small brush to clean out your 
boxes and sieves ; an ordinary flat paint brush, 
about three-fourths of an inch broad, will serve 
the purpose. Use it freely and carefully to pre- 
vent your seed getting mixed. 

When your seeds are cleaned, put them in the 
envelopes provided, marking them distinctly 
with the name of the species, and its shape and 
color, if in any way peculiar, together with the 

256 



SEEDS 

date of gathering. Seeds kept over winter should 
be placed in their envelopes in small wooden 
cases rather than in metal boxes. They must be 
kept perfectly dry, and moisture is apt to congeal 
at times on tin boxes, and thus possibly injure 
the seeds. The box should have several wrap- 
pings of paper about it, to protect the seeds from 
extreme heat or cold, and the whole should then 
be stored away for the winter in a dry, cool place. 
Much heat will dry out the seeds with compara- 
tive rapidity and lessen materially the period 
during which they will retain the power of ger- 
minating. On the other hand intense cold will 
freeze the life out of the seeds of tender annuals, 
and many varieties, subjected to a temperature 
of zero, are thereby rendered absolutely worth- 
less. 

I have thus urged you to gather your own 
seeds, not because seeds cannot be bought, but 
because the seeds you gather and care for are far 
better than any you can buy. It is reasonable to 
presume, and my personal experience confirms it, 
that seeds raised in a particular region naturally 
do better there than those coming from a distance. 
Thus I found that poppy seeds which were ap- 
parently perfectly good if sown in the spring, 
17 257 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

would fail to survive the winter if planted in the 
fall. It took me, for instance, several years to 
get a race of Tulip Poppies that would bloom 
satisfactorily from seed planted in the fall. I 
have planted in the fall a thousand poppy seeds 
which came from a distance, and had but a beg- 
garly dozen of plants the next season, yet appar- 
ently all of the seeds I afterwards gathered from 
these plants survived the following winter and 
germinated in the spring. This is not an excep- 
tional instance, but has happened over and over 
again in my experience, and with almost every 
species of hardy annual I have raised. 

There is, however, another reason why your 
own seeds will be the better. They are fresh ! 
Some seeds, of course, retain their power of ger- 
mination for a long time, but all seeds deteriorate 
to a greater or less degree for every day they are 
kept. I told you above, that you should mark 
on your packages of seeds the year in which they 
were gathered. Even when I wrote that line I 
deemed it an unnecessary detail, for I believed 
every amateur seed-grower would do this instinc- 
tively, as in his eyes the date would be almost as 
important as the name. Yet I know of but one 
seedsman in this country who makes even a pre- 

258 



SEEDS 

tence of giving a date for his seed, and he simply 
says, " All the seeds I offer are of the growth 
of 1899." There may be others who make such 
a declaration, but if so I have no knowledge 
of them. That old seeds are sold, and that 
they are often entirely worthless, there is no 
reason whatever to doubt. As I said before, the 
period that it takes to render a seed worthless 
varies materially. One variety of seed may re- 
main comparatively good for years, while another 
is useless in a few weeks. Take the perennial 
Phlox paniculata, or decussata, for instance. I 
bought the seeds of this plant year after year, 
first by the package and then by the ounce, and 
planted them carefully, and yet not one seed 
ever germinated. Why I failed I found out 
later, when I learned that one cannot expect 
these seeds to germinate at all, unless planted 
almost immediately after becoming ripe, that is, 
during the fall they were produced. Do the 
seedsmen tell you this ? By no means, and yet 
they sell you the seeds knowing them to be 
months, or possibly even years old, and presum- 
ably knowing, also, that they are worthless. Is 
this a harsh statement? It may be so, but it is 
not more so than that which the members of the 

259 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

trade say of themselves, or rather of each other. 
One of the largest growers in the country has for 
his motto the astounding words, " Blank's Seeds 
Grow ! " It is on every one of his catalogues, 
on all public advertisements, on circulars, on his 
letter-headings, and in great letters it is painted 
on the walls of his warehouse. Think of what 
this implies ! It can mean nothing at all unless 
it be true that the seeds usually sold, or at least 
frequently sold, by the trade are known to be in- 
capable of germinating. What would be thought 
of a man who advertised " Blank's Lamps can be 
Lit ; " or what would be said of Brown if he were 
to advertise that his " Shoes can be worn," or of 
the furniture man who should announce that his 
" Beds can be Slept in," or of another who 
should declare that " Uwanta Biscuits can be 
eaten " ? Would not such advertising be deemed 
absurd, simply because it is generally recognized 
that all lamps can be lit, shoes worn, beds slept 
in, and biscuits eaten ? But in the seed business 
the converse must be the case if such words prove 
to be good advertising ; yet why do you buy seeds 
if not with the expectation and belief that they 
will grow into plants and produce flowers, vege- 
tables, or fruit? 

260 



SEEDS 

Now seedsmen are by no means modest in ex- 
tolling the excellence of their wares, but use an 
extravagance of phrase in commending their 
goods, such as is only indulged in by the adver- 
tiser of a circus. They omit one essential thing, 
however, the absence of which makes all other 
claims worthless, for they give you no assurance 
that the seeds they sell will reproduce their kind. 
Here is what one of the largest dealers in Amer- 
ica has to say on this point : 

" While we exercise the greatest care to have all 
Seeds, Plants, and Bulbs pure and reliable, we do not 
give any warranty, express or implied. If the pur- 
chaser does not accept the goods on these conditions, 
they must be returned at once, and the money that has 
been paid for same will be refunded." 

Here is what another leading firm has to 
say : 

"We wish it to be distinctly understood that although 
we continue to take all possible pains to supply only 
New, Genuine, and Unadulterated Seeds, we still give 
no warranty, express or implied, as to description, quality, 
productiveness, or any other matter of any of the Seeds, 
Plants, or Bulbs we send out, and will not be in any 
way responsible for the crop. Every order received for 
articles named in this Catalogue will be' executed on 
these conditions only." 

261 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

Of course it would be difficult to make lan- 
guage stronger than this, and what does it mean ? 
It means that if I send these gentlemen $2.50 for 
a dozen choice Gladiolus bulbs, and they think 
best to send me common bulbs or even plain 
ordinary onions in their place, under the terms 
of the sale I can have no redress whatever. 

These seedsmen may, and do, make the most 
extravagant claims for their goods, yet they tell 
you at the same time that they will not and do 
not warrant one single word of it to be true. 
You are to understand, also, that these terms are 
not mere matters of form. I ordered from a repu- 
table house an ounce of the seed of the early sum- 
mer-blooming Cosmos, and the package which they 
forwarded to me, to the best of my knowledge, 
did not contain a single seed of the variety I had 
paid for. All were of the common, cheaper, late- 
blooming variety, absolutely worthless to me. I 
reported the matter to the dealers, but they have 
never offered to return the money I had paid 
to them. 

It is only fair to say that all seedsmen do not 
attempt to run their business on such extraordi- 
nary terms. Here is what one grower says: "We 
guarantee that all seeds are First-Class, True, and 

262 



SEEDS 

Pure, and of strong germinating power in so far 
that should any prove otherwise, we will re-fill 
the order free, or refund the price paid." This 
is not an unfair offer. Another says nothing at 
all about a warranty, but declares that his seeds 
are fresh, of the finest strain, the best quality, and 
can be depended upon to grow and to produce 
the finest flowers, and he promises that " if mis- 
takes occur they will be cheerfully corrected." 
There may be others offering terms as just as 
these to their customers, but, unfortunately, I 
know of but few. 

When a .seedsman acknowledges no responsi- 
bility whatever for his statements, it makes very 
little difference what he says or leaves unsaid, for 
by his own declarations his assertions are unworthy 
of consideration. From those, however, who are 
willing to be bound in some degree at least by 
their public statements, seed-buyers have, I 
think, a right to ask of them further information 
upon certain other points. If a dealer states that 
all of his seeds are the growth of a particular 
year, that covers the point of freshness fully, but 
in many cases this is not possible, nor indeed is 
it necessary, as manv seeds several years old may 
still be considered fresh and good. It would be 

263 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

only just, however, for the dealer to do for his 
customers what he doubtless does for himself, 
that is, mark the date of growth upon the pack- 
age. This is easily done, and the buyer would 
then know just what he was getting as far as 
freshness was concerned. Another serious diffi- 
culty in the matter of seeds refers to the question 
of quantity. When one buys seeds by weight, 
he knows how much he will get for the price 
asked, but when he buys a " package " the 
amount he will get is entirely unknown. I once 
paid fifty cents for a package of carnation seeds, 
and found upon opening it that I had received 
just exactly six seeds. On remonstrating with 
the dealer I was told that I had received one seed 
more than I was entitled to, five being the limit 
for that special variety. Perhaps it was just as 
well that I did n't get any more of these seeds, 
for none of the six germinated ; but why did not 
the dealer tell his customers that there were but 
five seeds in such a package ? Was it because he 
believed that if he did so people would not buy 
these packages ? I can conceive of no other 
reason for the concealment. Some dealers do 
state the number of seeds in a package when the 
seeds are large, and others, besides offering seeds by 

264 



SEEDS 

the ounce, also put up packages containing iooo 
seeds ; and if this is possible why is it not equally 
possible to sell still smaller definite quantities, or 
why should not each package contain ioo or 50 
seeds, or any number, so that a " package " might 
become a definite or known quantity ? In case 
of inexpensive seeds, a package might contain a 
double measure, and more costly varieties could 
be put up in half measures, or any fraction you 
choose, stating the fact plainly in the catalogue 
and upon the package. It makes but little differ- 
ence what the standard may be, but it is of the 
first importance that there should be some stan- 
dard. Another important point which should 
also be stated, is the place from whence the seeds 
come. Now, when one buys seed he has no 
means of knowing whether it was grown in 
Europe or America, in Florida or in Maine, in 
1900 or before the war. 

There is much room for improvement in the 
ordinary seedsman's catalogue. There is some 
attempt at classification, to be sure, but almost 
invariably annuals, biennials, perennials, and 
vines are still jumbled together in a single section, 
and the compiler moreover often omits to note 
whether a plant is annual, biennial, or perennial, 

265 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

and whether hardy, half hardy, or tender. Every 
plant should be entered under its proper botan- 
ical name, with cross references from the common 
name. I know of but two seedsmen who in- 
variably do this. One enters a flower always as 
Candytuft, while in another's catalogue you 
must look for it under the head of Iberis, and it 
is common also to see the perennial varieties of 
some species entered under the botanical name, 
while the annuals are found under the common 
title in the same catalogue. I have three cat- 
alogues before me now in which one flower is 
entered as Mirabilis, another has it headed Four- 
o'clock, while in the third you will find it under 
the head of Marvel of Peru. 

The description should be written in plain 
English, and not always in the superlative 
degree. The compiler having exhausted all his 
adjectives of praise on the ordinary or even 
inferior flowers has nothing left with which to 
describe plants of real merit. There is entirely 
too much indiscriminate praise given to all sorts 
of inferior plants, and when a flower is too in- 
significant to excite the enthusiasm of the cat- 
aloguer he generally says " it is stately," if 
tall, or if dwarf, he falls back on the assertion 

266 



SEEDS 

that " it has a neat habit of growth." In this 
they remind me of the Professor who when 
shown by a proud mother a baby far from beau- 
tiful, exclaimed with apparent rapture, " What 
an alert face ! " 

In most of the seed catalogues there is a 
section devoted to novelties, generally printed 
upon a vivid-colored paper, probably to keep 
pace with the flaming descriptions. In my ex- 
perience, not one in ten of these so-called novel- 
ties is worth planting at all, and not one in ten 
of these ten ever produces a flower that bears a 
near resemblance to the description. Of course, 
now and then, a new variety of real merit is 
introduced, and naturally it first appears on these 
pages, but the prizes are so few and the blanks 
so many that it is not worth while to risk money 
on this sort of gambling. The seedsmen are 
straining every nerve to produce something new 
and good in flowers or vegetables, for in the 
event of success the profits are large, and the 
effort is in every way commendable, but, failing 
to obtain a plant of real merit, the temptation to 
invent one is strong. Every one knows that in 
certain localities and under exceptionable con- 
ditions old and well-known flowers have been 

267 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

known to reach marvellous proportions in the 
size of both plants and flowers, and in the pro- 
fusion of the bloom. The heliotrope, with its 
dwarf plants and small blossoms, has been car- 
ried to California, where it grows so large as to 
be almost a tree ; but would it be fair to sell us 
the seeds on a description based upon its appear- 
ance there, accompanied by a photograph show- 
ing its colossal size and profusion of bloom ? 
Yet, if it were a comparatively new or unknown 
plant, this is exactly what one might expect to 
see done. In referring to this matter one of the 
oldest seed houses in America, says : 

" It really seems as if the creature, man, was as 
anxious to be deceived in seeds as in quack medicines, 
for we do not hesitate to declare, upon our reputation as 
seedsmen of repute, that nine-tenths of the so-called 
new sorts advertised at high prices are, so far as merit 
goes, rank humbugs, and it is time the public were told 
so. One tires of reading the adjectives of superlative 
degree used in describing them ; and one becomes still 
more worn to find, after months of watching and 
waiting, that the highly extolled are no better than old 
familiar sorts." 

Had I the inclination I could not write any- 
thing harsher than this. All readers of seed 
catalogues have been impressed by the " adjec- 

268 



SEEDS 

tives of superlative degree " to which this writer 
refers in the annually recurring lists of novelties ; 
and to give an example of it, let us suppose that 
some genius of a grower, failing to produce his 
longed-for novelty, and finding his beds burdened 
with an overstock of sorrel, should in a moment 
of inspiration conceive of the idea of disposing 
of his surplus weeds to the always gullible buyers 
of seeds and plants. In attempting to ascertain 
how an artist in this class of advertising would 
be likely to describe such a novelty, we need not 
call upon the imagination at all, for the seedsmen 
have done the work for us, and every sentence 
and phrase in the following description is taken 
from the catalogues of certain well-known dealers 
who are most careful to declare that they give 
no warranty, express or implied, as to their own 
descriptions. Let me note, in explanation, that 
the proper botanical name for sorrel is Rumex 
acetosella^ so that there is actually no deception. 

A Grand New Rumex. 

Frau Corie Marelli. 

{Rumex acetosella, var. Boddlepopsteri.) 

Without doubt the most sensational new 
plant introduced for many years, and entirely 

269 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

distinct from anything heretofore offered. It 
has been produced by Pan Boddlepopsteritch, 
the famous Polish Rumexist, who for this striking 
novelty was awarded a first-class certificate by 
the floral committee of the Royal Perfidical 
Society at Oohiskeywitch. This is undoubtedly 
the greatest gain in hardy perennials yet in- 
troduced. It is a strong robust grower, the 
lance-oblong or halbert shaped leaves forming 
bold clumps of the most brilliant green, making 
the plant a most striking object in any well-kept 
lawn. The remarkable floriferousness and the 
great size of the spikes of flowers compared to 
the delicacy of the stem gives the whole plant 
a lightness, grace, and elegance difficult to describe, 
and makes it certain that it is destined sooner or 
later to find its way into every garden. Begin- 
ning to bear its graceful and airy heads of flowers 
early in June, • the stems are still completely 
smothered with soft rosy pink blossoms when 
the frosts of the coming winter have laid prostrate 
all less hardy plants. A bed containing about 
5000 plants of this variety eclipsed anything we 
ever saw. We can convey but a faint idea of the 
beauty and distinct warm coloring of this splendid 

270 



SEEDS 



acquisition. We have succeeded in working up 
a large stock which enables us to offer it at a 
popular price. 

Good young plants, 50 cents each, $5.00 per 
dozen. 



271 



POSTSCRIPT 

" Deliver all with charity." 

I WONDER whether I have not been making 
myself a little unpleasant about our flowers 
and their seeds. Possibly I have been 
thinking only of the woman who has saved a 
trifle out of the market-money to buy her few 
seeds, and for her self-denial has received little or 
maybe nothing. 

The story is told of an American Bishop who 
had been staying at an English country house, 
and left one morning in company with a young 
gentleman who had also been a visitor at the 
same place. When they alighted at the station, 
the Bishop hurried to the train, while his com- 
panion searched in vain for his gun, which it 
appeared had been left behind. He abused the 
servant roundly, using language fitted only for 
the ceremony of excommunication, and at the 
last moment leaped on board the train to find 
himself face to face with the Bishop. He colored 

272 



POSTSCRIPT 

slightly as he said, " I beg your pardon, my 
lord " (even Yankee bishops are lords in Eng- 
land), " for my language, but I am a plain-spoken 
man and always call a spade a spade." 

" Indeed," said the Bishop, " I 'm surprised at 
that. From your conversation just now, I might 

have supposed that you would call it a d d 

old shovel." 

Have I been calling honest spades excommu- 
nicated old shovels ? If I have, then let me beg 
pardon of the spades. Flowers are too beautiful 
to quarrel over, but let us instead all cordially 
join hands, and try to make them bloom ever 
more beautifully, more bountifully, and where 
they never bloomed before. 

When I first came to Insley very few flowers 
were to be seen thereabouts. Only a geranium 
or two in a window testified to the love of 
flowers by the inmates; but as the years have 
passed the flowers have increased, and now dot 
most of the lawns about the dwellings in the 
village, and near the farmhouses by the lake. In 
this I have helped where and when I could, and 
little packages of seeds found their way to those 
who longed for them. Do not let this be deemed 
a hint to others to turn to the island for seeds, 

18 273 



AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 

for I have no wish to injure the business of the 
seedsmen, but only to make it better for the 
flower-lovers, and, in the end, ever so much 
better for the seedsmen themselves. 

Every year very many people who are 
strangers to me land upon the island, and wander 
about its shady walks or down upon the terraces. 
Very many others who might have done so have 
for some reason refrained. Those who came 
gave me pleasure, because they found pleasure in 
coming; while those who stayed away disappointed 
me, for I could not but think that either they 
did not love flowers, or else believed that I would 
not willingly have them look upon the flowers 
that we both loved. 

From early spring till late fall I am very busy, 
planting, transplanting, weeding, or gathering 
seed, so that it is not always or often easy for me 
to stop and try to entertain chance visitors, but 
let it be understood that no one is ever entertained 
on the island, though all are welcome to come, 
and see, and walk, and enjoy, aye ! and to pluck 
the blossoms also, if they will but be kind and 
tender to the plants. 



274 



INDEX 



Abronia umbellata, 243, 247. 
Achillea ptarmica, 176. 
Agrostemma coronaria, 164. 
Alkanet, 178. 

Allegheny Hollyhock, 143. 
Alsike Clover, 27. 
Althea rosea, 142-145. 
Alyssum, 179, 225, 226, 232, 233, 
236. 

Benthami compadiim, 225. 

compactum erectum, 225. 
procumbens, 225. 

marilimutn, 225, 226, 247. 

perennial, 179. 
Amaranthtts caudatus, 243, 248. 

Henderi, 242, 248. 

tricolor, 242, 248. 
Amberboa moschata, 209, 210. 

odorata, 209, 210. 
American Iris, 165, 166. 
Ampelopsis quinqnefolia, 159, 165. 
Anchusa Italica, 178. 
ANNUALS, 189-245. 
Annuals, only in the Spring, 249, 
250. 

planted in the Fall, 247, 248. 
Anthemis chamomilla flor plena, 
212. 

coronaria, 239. 

tinctoria, 180. 
Anther icum liliastrum, 176. 
Aquilegia, 134, 135, 236. 
Arabis albida, 176. 

1 Chapter headings are printed in CAPITALS, the common names of flowers in 
Small capitals, the botanical names in italics, and all other references in 
ordinary type. 

275 



Arbor Vitae, 29. 
Ash, Mountain, 28. 
Aspernla assured setosa, 238. 

odorata, 186, 1S7. 

orientalis, 238, 248. 
Aster, China, 208, 209. 



Baby's Breath, 166, 167. 
Bachelor's Button, 217-220. 
Balsam Fir, 29. 
Baptisia australis, 178. 
Beds for flowers, 250, 251. 
Bee Balm, 152. 

Larkspur, 141. 
Belli s per en n is, 169, 170. 
Best seeds, 252, 254, 257, 258. 
BIENNIALS, PERENNIALS 

AND, 131-188. 
Birch trees, 24, 25, 27, 28. 
Birds, 89-119. 

Books on, 70. 
Birthroot, 184, 185. 
Black Duck, 101. 
Blanket Flower, 132, 133. 
Bleeding Heart, 160, 161. 
Bluebottle, 217. 
Bluet, 217. 
Bob White, 112, 113. 
Bocconia cor data, 174. 

Japonica, 174. 
Books, Children's, 71, 72. 

criticisms on, 



INDEX 



Books for a Summer Library, 61- 
88. 
First Choice, 63-68. 
Second Choice, 75—77. 
of Reference, 72, 73. 
Out-of-Door, 69, 70. 
Boxes for seeds, 255, 256. 
Brachycome iberidifolia, 238, 249. 
Brompton Stock, 233. 
Brush for seeds, 256. 
bunchberry, 185. 
Bush Eschscholtzia, 224. 
Butterfly Pea, 181, 182. 

Calendula officinalis, 220, 221, 248. 
California Poppy, 223-225, 248. 
Calliopsis, 211. 

Callirhoe involucrata, 175, 177. 
Callistephns Ckinensis, 208, 209. 

horiensis, 208, 209, 249. 
Campanula calycanthema, 140. 

carpatica, 153, 154. 

glomerata, 154. 

grandiflorum, 173. 

latifolia, 154, 155. 

Medium, 140. 

pyrafnidalis , 154. 
Campanulas treated as biennials, 

154. 
Candytuft, 226, 227, 233, 248. 

perennial, 179. 
Canterbury Bell, 140. 
Carnation, 182, 183. 
Carnation-flowered Poppy, 

190, 195. 
Carpathian Harebell, 153, 

154- 
Cedar trees, 29. 
Ceilings, 7, 8. 
Centaurea chameleon, 209. 

cyanus, 217-220, 248. 

imperialist 209. 

Margarita, 209. 

montana, 178, 179. 



Centaurea moschata, 209, 210, 249. 

suaveolens, 209. 
Centrosema grandiflora, 181, 182. 
Chaff in seeds, 255, 256. 
Chamomile, 180. 
Cheiranthus cheiri, 235, 249. 
Chickadee, 98. 
Chickens, 114-116. 
Children's Library, 71. 
Chimney Campanula, 154. 
Chimney-Swift, 96, 97. 
China Aster, 208, 209, 249. 

Pink, 207, 208, 249. 
Chinese P^eony, 172. 
Chipping Sparrow, 100. 
Chrysanthemum Burridgeanum, 
240. 

carinalum, 240, 249. 

coccineum, 153, 167. 

coronarium, 239, 248. 

Dunnetti, 240. 

inodorum plenissimum, 213, 
248. 

lacustre, 163, 164. 

latifolium, 1 63. 

maximum, 163, 164. 

segetum, 240, 248. 

Summer, 239, 248. 

Tricolor, 240, 249. 

uliginosum, 163. 
Clarkia elegans, 244, 245, 248. 
Classics, 73. 
Cleome grand is, 245. 
Climate of Maine, 120, 121. 
Columbine, 134, 135. 
Cone-flower, 173, 174, 240, 

249. 
Convallaria majalis, 149. 
Convolvulus majus, 238. 

purpureus, 238. 
Coreopsis, 136, 169, 211, 212. 

atropurpurea, 212. 

atrosanguinea, 212. 

coronata, 212, 248. 



276 



INDEX 



Coreopsis Drummondii, 212, 248. 

Golden Wave, 212. 

lanceolate. , 136, 169. 

nigra speciosa, 212. 

tine tor ia, 211, 212, 248. 
Corn-Bottle, 217. 
Cornflower, 217-220, 248. 

perennial, 178, 179. 
Corn Marigold, 240, 248. 
Corn Poppy, 194-198, 248. 
Cornel, Dwarf, 185. 
Cornus Canadensis, 185. 
Cosmos bipinnatus, 210, 211, 249. 
Covent Garden Gypsophilla, 

243- 

Criticisms on Books, 78-88. 
Crown Daisy, 239, 248. 
Crucifer^e, 233. 
Cupid Sweet Pea, 203. 

Daisy, Crown, 239, 248. 

English, 169, 170. 

Giant, 163. 

Swan River, 238, 249. 
Date on seed packages, 257-260. 
Day Lily, 158, 159. 
Delphinhim Ajacis, 215, 248. 

candelabrum, 215. 

cardinale, 141. 

cashmerianutn, 141. 

cheilanthum , 141. 

Chinense, 141. 

consolida, 215, 248. 

elalias, 141. 

elalum, 141. 

formosum, 141. 

grandiflorum , 1 41. 

hnperialis, 215. 

majus, 215. 

mimis, 215. 

nudicaule, 141, 142. 

Sinense, 141. 

Zalil, 141. 
Descriptions of Flowers, 266, 267. 



Dianthus barbatus, 133, 134. 

Chinensis, 207, 208, 249. 

Heddewigii, 207, 208. 

plumarius, 155, 156. 

Sinensis, 207, 208. 
Dicentra spectabilis, 160, 161. 
Dielytra, 161. 

Digitalis purpurea, 137-139. 
Dock Weed, 170. 
Dogwood, Dwarf, 185 
Duck, Wounded wild, 171, 172. 
Ducks, Tame, 116. 
Dwarf Cornel, 185. 

Dogwood, 185. 

Elm trees, 28. 

Empress Candytuft, 227. 
English Daisy, 169, 170. 
Pheasant, 108-112. 
Scarlet Poppy, 194, 196. 
Envelopes for seeds, 256, 257. 
Eschscholtzia aurantiaca, 224. 
Bush, 224. 

Calif ornica, 223-225, 248. 
Crocea, 223, 224. 
alba, 224. 
flor plena, 224. 
mandarin, 224. 
rosea, 224. 
Douglasii, 224. 
Golden West, 224. 
maritima, 224. 
Evening Primrose, 180. 
Everlasting, 244, 249. 

Fall planting, Seeds for, 247, 248. 
False Indigo, 178. 
Feverfew, 153. 
Fir, Balsam, 29, 31. 
Fireplaces, 10-12. 
Fish, Books on, 70. 
Flax, Perennial, 167, 168. 

Red or Scarlet, 237, 248. 
Fleur-de-lis, 166. 



277 



INDEX 



FLOWER-BEDS. 120-130. 
forget-me-not, i45, 146, 169. 
Four-o'clock, 242, 249. 
Foxglove, 137-139. 
Fragrant Balm, 152. 
Fresh seeds, 258-260. 
Funkia, 159. 

Gaillardia aristata, 132. 

grandiflora super ba, 132, 133. 

picta, 241. 

Lorenziana, 241. 

pulchella, 241, 249. 
Galium trifolium, 186, 187. 
Garden, Books on the, 69. 
Garden Pink, 155, 156. 
Gathering seeds, 253, 254. 
Geese, Wild, 170, 171. 
German Iris, 166. 
Germinating power of seeds, 258- 

260. 
Giant Daisy, 163. 
Globe Amaranth, 217. 
Godetia grandiflora, 243, 244, 249. 

IVkitneyi, 243. 
Golden Marguerite, 180. 

West Eschscholtzia, 224. 
Gomphrena globosa, 217. 
Grass seeds, 26, 27. 
Guinea Fowl, 116. 
Gypsophilla elegans, 243, 249. 

panicitlata, 166, 167, 243. 

Hackmatack, 30. 

Hallways, 15. 

Hardy Garden Carnation, 

182, 183. 
" Hardy Heliotrope," 179. 
Hardy seeds, 257, 258. 
Helenutm autiunnale, 174. 

Bolanderi, 174. 

Hoopesii, 174. 
Helianlhus annuus, 229, 24S 

argophyllus, 229, 24S. 

278 



Helianthus Californicus, 230, 231. 

cucumerifolius, 229. 

debilis, 229. 

globosus fistidosus, 230. 

tnacrophyllus giganteus, 230. 

multiflorus, 230. 

nanus flor pleno, 230. 

sidphurus , 230. 

Peruvianas, 230. 

variegatus, 230. 

Perennial, 183. 
"Heliotrope, Hardy," 179. 
Hemerocallis flava, 1 58, 1 59 

fulva, 159. 

middendorfii, 159. 

minor, 159. 
Hibiscus Africanus, 245. 
Hollyhock, 142-145. 
Honesty, 181. 
Honeysuckle, 159. 
Hooker's Early-flowering 

Poppy, 196, 197. 
House-building, 6-9. 
Humming Bird, 97. 



Iberis amara var. coronaria, 226, 
248. 
perennial, 179. 
umbellata, 226, 248. 
Iceland Poppy, 146-148. 
Imperial Japanese Morning 

Glory, 239. 
India Pinks, 207, 208. 
Indigo, False, 178. 
Intermediate Stock, 233, 249. 
IN THE BEGINNING, 1-31. 
Ipomcza purpurea, 238, 239, 

249. 
Iris Germanica, 166. 
Kcempferi, 166. 
IcEVtgata, 166. 
pseudacorus, 166. 
Virginica, 165, 166. 



INDEX 



Jacob's Ladder, 178. 
Japanese Hollyhock, 143. 

Iris, 166. 

Morning Glory, 239. 

Rose, 162. 
Joseph's Coat, 242, 248. 

Kaiser-Blumen, 217. 
Keeping seeds, 257. 
Kentucky Blue-grass, 27. 
Kingbird, 100. 
Kingfisher, 98-100. 
Knapweed, Mountain, 178, 
179. 

Lamp Flower, 207. 
Larch, American, 30. 
Larkspur, Bee, 141. 

Branching, 215, 248. 

Emperor, 215. 

Perennial, 141, 142. 

Rocket, 215, 248. 
Lathyrus latifolius, 164, 165. 

odoratus, 200-203, 248. 
Lawns, 24-26. 
Layia elegans, 231, 248. 
Leaf-mould, 129, 130. 
Library, Books for a Summer, 61. 
Lilium auratum, 156, 157. 

candidum, 158. 

croceum, 158. 

longiflorum, 158. 

speciosum, 158. 

tenuifolium, 157, 158. 

tigrinum, 157. 

var. splendens, 157. 
Lily-of-the-Valley, 149. 
Linncea borealis, 183, 184. 
Linum coccineuvi , 237. 

grandiflorum , 237, 248. 

narbonnense, 167, 168. 

rubrum, 237. 
Lobb's Nasturtium, 204-206, 
250. 



Location of Flower-beds, 250. 
Lonicera Periclymenum, 159. 
Loon, 102-104. 

Love-Lies-Bleeding, 243, 248. 
Lunaria annua, 181. 

biennis, 181. 
Lupin, 168, 169. 

Lupiuus polyphyllus, 168, 1 69. 
Lychnis cceli-rosa, 164. 

coronaria, 164. 

fulgens, 207. 

grandiflora, 207. 

Haageana, 207. 



Machet's Perfection Mignon- 
ette, 210. 
Mallow, 175. 
Malva moschata, 160. 
Mammoth Fringed Allegheny 

Hollyhock, 143. 
Maple trees, 28, 30. 
Marguerite, Golden, 180. 
Marigold, African, 221-223, 
249. 

Corn, 240, 248. 

French, 221-223, 249. 

Pot, 220, 221. 
Marvel-of-Peru, 242, 249. 
Matricaria inodoraplenissima, 212- 

215, 248. 
Matihiola annua, 233, 234, 249. 

incana, 233. 

sinuata, 233, 249. 
Mayweed, 212-215. 
MEN OF MAINE, 32-60. 
Mignonette, 210, 249. 
Mint, 187. 

Mirabilis Jcdapa, 242, 249. 
Mo>iarda didytna, 152, 153. 

fistulosa, 152, 153. 
Morning Glory, 239, 249. 
Moss Pink, 151. 
Mountain Ash, 28. 
Mountain Knapweed, 178, 179. 

279 



INDEX 



Mourning Bride, 241. 
Mullein Lychnis, 164. 

Pink, 164. 
Musk Mallow, 160. 
Mustard Family, 233. 
Myosotis alpestris, 145, 146. 

palustris, 145, 146. 

semperflorens, 145. 

Rehsteineri, 146. 

sylvatica, 145, 146. 

Names of Plants, 265, 266. 
Nasturtium, 204-207, 249, 250. 
Nicotiana affinis, 231. 

alata, 231-233, 248. 
Giant Red, 232. 
Nightshade, Three-leaved, 

184, 185. 
Novelties in Plants, 267-271. 

(Knottier a biennis, 180. 
Old seeds, 258-260. 
Olive-backed Thrush, 100. 
Opium Poppy, 189-194, 248. 
Oriental Poppy, 148, 149. 
Oswego Tea, 152. 
Out-of-Door Books, 69. 
Owls, 108. 

Packages of seeds, 264, 265. 
PcEonia albiflora, 172. 

Montan, 173. 

officinalis, 172. 

peregrina, 172. 
p;«ony-flowered poppy, 19o. 
Painted Trillium, 185. 
Pansy, 131, 132. 
Papaver bracteatum, 148. 

glaucum, 198, 199, 248. 

Hooker i, 196, 197. 

Murselli, 190. 

nudicaule, 146-148. 

orientate, 148, 149, 168. 

P/EONY-FLOWERED, I90. 



Papaver pavoniutn, 198, 248. 

Rhaas, 194-198, 248. 

somniferum, 189 194, 248. 

umbrosnm, 197. 
Paper bags for seeds, 256, 257. 
Paridisea liliastrum, 176. 
Partridge, 105. 
Peabody Bird, 94, 95. 
Pea, Butterfly, 181, 182. 
Peacock Poppy, 198, 248. 
Pea-fowl, 1 1 7-1 19. 
Pea, Perennial, 164, 165. 
Pea, Sweet, 200-203, 248. 
Pearl Achillea, 176. 

Stock, 234. 
Perennial Flax, 167, 168. 

Pea, 164, 165. 
PERENNIALS AND BIEN- 
NIALS, 131-188. 
Pharbitis hispida, 239. 
Pheasant, 108-112. 
Phlox dec as sat a, 1 50. 

Drummondii, 149, 216, 217, 
249. 

frondosa, 151. 

maculata, 150, 151. 

Nelsoni, 151. 

nivalis, 151. 

paniculata, r 49- 1 5 1 . 

reptans, 151, 152. 

stolonifera, 151. 

subulata, 151, 152. 

suffruticosa, 150. 

verna, 151, 152. 
Pine trees, 24, 28, 31. 
Pink, China, 207, 208, 249. 

Garden, 155, 156. 

Her Majesty, 155. 

India, 207, 208, 249. 

Moss, 151. 

Scotch, 155, 156. 
Place of growth of seeds, 257, 

258. 
Plantain Lily, 159. 

80 



INDEX 



Plant names, 265, 266. 

novelties, 267-271. 
Planting seeds, 251, 252. 
Platycodon autumnale, 173. 

grandiflorum , 173. 

mariesii, 173. 
Plumbing, 20. 
Plume Poppy, 174. 
Polemonium cceruleutn, 178. 
Polygala lutea, 217, 218. 
Poppy, American Flag, 191. 

Black Knight, 191. 

Bride, 192. 

California, 223-225, 248. 

Carnation-flowered, 190-- 

195- 

Corn, 194-206, 248. 

Crimson King, 191. 

Danebrog, 192. 

Danish Flag, 192. 

Eiderdown, 190. 

Eldorado, 191. 

Empress of China, 192. 

English Scarlet, 194, 
196. 

Fairy Blush, 191. 

Fayal, 193. 

Firebrand, 191. 

Giganteum, 193. 

Hooker's Early Flower- 
ing, 196, 197. 

Iceland, 146-148. 

Irresistible, 196. 

Lady-in-White, 191. 

Lavender Beauty, 191. 

Maid-of-the-Mist, 193. 

Majestic, 195, 196. 

Mikado, 19.1. 

Opium, 189-194, 248. 

Oriental, 148, 149. 

Oriental Beauties, 193. 

P^eony-flowered, 190, 191. 

Peacock, 198, 248. 

Plume, 174. 



Poppy Ranunculus-flowered, 

r 94, i95- 

Rosy Morn, 191. 

Shirley, 194-196. 

Snow-Ball, 191. 

Snow-Drift, 190. 

Tulip, 198, 248. 

White-Swan, 190. 

Wilks's Improved, 197. 
Portulaca grandiflora, 235-237, 

248. 
POSTSCRIPT, 272-274. 
Pot Marigold, 220, 221, 248. 
Primrose, Evening, 180. 
Prohibitory liquor laws in Maine, 

38-43- 
Pyramidal Stock, 234. 
Pyrethrian roseum, 153, 167. 
uliginosiim, 163. 

Quail, 112, 113. 

Quantity of seeds in a package, 

264, 265. 
Queen Stock, 233. 

Ragged Sailor, 217. 
Ranunculus acris, 217. 
Ranunculus-flowered Poppy, 

194, 195. 
Red-breasted Nuthatch, 100. 
Red-eyed Vireo, 100. 
Red Flax, 237, 248. 
Redstart, 95. 
Red-top grass, 27. 
Reference, Books of, 72, 73. 
Reseda odorala, 210, 249. 
Rhodanthe maculata, 244, 249. 
Ripe seeds, 254. 
Road-making, 25. 
Robin, 89-94. 
Rock-cress, 176. 
Rocket, 233. 

Candytuft, 226, 227, 248. 

Larkspur, 215, 248. 



28l 



INDEX 



Rosa lucida, 163. 

rubiginosa, 162, 163. 

rugosa, 162. 
Rose Campion, 164. 

Moss, 235, 248. 

of-Heaven, 164. 
Roses, 161-163. 

Rudbeckia bicolor, 173, 240, 241, 
249. 

Golden Glow, 173, 174. 

laciniata, 173, 174. 
Ruffed Grouse, 105-108. 
Rumex acetosella, 269-271. 



Salpiglossis sinuata, 203, 248. 
Scabiosa atropurpurea, 241, 242. 

Caucasica, 136. 
Scarlet Flax, 237, 248. 
Scarlet Tanager, 100. 
Schizanthus pinnatus, 244, 249. 
Scotch Pink, 155, 156. 
Second Choice of Books, 75-77. 
SEEDS, 246-271. 
Seeds, Catalogues of, 265-267. 
Cleaning, 255, 256. 
Date of, 257-260. 
Fresh, 256-260. 
Gathering, 253, 254. 
Keeping, 257. 
of Novelties, 267-271. 
of the Poppy, 199, 200. 
Place of growth of, 257, 258. 
Planting of, 251, 252. 
Quantity in a package of, 264, 

265. 
Ripe, 254. 

Stale, 150, 259, 260. 
The best, 252, 254, 257, 258. 
Seedmen's terms of sale, 261-263. 
Servants, Household, 17-20. 
Shelldrake, 102. 
Shirley Poppy, 194-196. 
Siberian Coral Lily, 157, 158. 

2 



Sieves for seeds, 255. 
Sneeze Weed, 174. 
Sneezewort, 176. 
Soil for flower-beds, 123-125. 
SOME BIRDS, 89-119. 
Sorrel, 269-271. 
Sparrow, Chipping, 100. 

White-throated, 94, 95. 
Specalaria specuhim, 245. 
Speedwell, 178. 
Spiderwort, 179, 180. 
Spring planting, Seeds for, 249, 

250. 
Spruce trees, 24, 28, 29, 31. 
Stairways, 12-14. 
Stakes for flowers, 144. 
St. Buuno's Lily, 176. 
Steeple Bellflower, 154. 
Stock, 233, 234, 249. 
Storing seeds, 257. 
Summer Chrysanthemum, 239, 

248. 
Sunflower, Annual, 229-231, 
248. 

Giant Russian, 230. 

Globe-of-Gold, 230. 

Mammoth Russian, 230. 

Perennial, 183. 

Stella, 230. 

Sulphur Gem, 230. 

Thousand-flowered, 230. 
Swan River Daisy, 238, 249. 
Sweet Brier Rose, 162, 163. 

Alyssum, 225, 226, 247. 

Pea, 20C-203, 248. 

Scabious, 241, 242. 

Sultan, 209, 210, 249. 

William, 133, 134. 

Woodruff, 186, 187. 



Tagetes erecta, 221-223, 249. 

patula, 221, 222, 249. 

nana, 222. 



$2 



INDEX 



Tagetes signata, 221, 249. 

pumila, 222. 
Tags for flowers, 252, 253. 
Tamarack, 30. 
Tanacetum vulgar e, 187, 188. 
Tansy, 187, 188. 
Ten-Weeks Stock, 233, 249. 
Terraces for flowers, 125-127. 
THE VESTIBULE, 61-88. 
Three-leaved Nightshade. 

184, 185. 
Thrush, 100. 

Time to gather seeds, 254. 
Tokio Hollyhock, 143. 
Tom Pouce Nasturtium, 204. 

Thumb Nasturtium, 204- 
207, 249. 
Tradescantia Virginica, 179, 180. 
Transplanting Flowers, 251. 
Tree P,eony, 173. 
Tree transplanting, 30, 31. 
Trellis for Sweet Peas, 201. 
Tricolor Chrysanthemum, 

240, 249. 
Trillium, 184, 185. 

cernitum, 185. 

erectum, 185. 

erythrocarputn, 185. 

grandiflorum, 185. 

Painted, 185. 
Tropczohim Lobbiamcm, 204, 250. 

ma/us, 204, 249. 

minus, 204, 250. 
Tulip Poppy, 198, 199, 248. 
Twin-flower, 183, 184. 

Valeriana, 179. 
Vegetables, 128, 129. 



Venus' Looking-Glass, 245. 
Veronica spicata, 178. 
Victoria Aster, 208. 
Viola odorata, 181. 

tricolor, 131, 132. 
Violet, 181. 

Virginia Creeper, 159, 165. 
Wake-Robin, 184, 185. 
Wallflower, 233, 235, 249. 
Warranty of seeds, 261-263. 
Water works, 20-24. 
White Day Lily, 159. 
White-throated Sparrow, 94, 95. 
Wild Bergamot, 153. 
Wild Flowers, 183-185. 
Wild Rose, 163. 
Wilkes's Improved Rhteas 

Poppy, 197. 
Willows, 30. 
Windows, 9. 

Woodbine, 159, 160, 165. 
Wood-Lily, 184, 185. 
Woodpecker, 100. 
Worthless seeds, 150, 259, 260. 



Yankees, 32. 
Yarrow, 176. 

Yellow Bachelor's Button, 
218. 

Day Lily, 158, 159. 

Iris, 166. 
Yucca filamentosa, 181. 



Zinnia clegans, 227-229. 
robusta plenissima, 228. 



283 



MAY 23 1901 

if 



